Hear No Evil Speak No Evil
by starspangledpumpkin
Summary: Hermione had been bullied mercilessly in London, so she's getting a fresh new start in Ottery St. Catchpole. There, she finds friends in Cedric Diggory, Fred, George, and Ginny Weasley, and Luna Lovegood. It felt good to have people care enough about what she had to say to learn sign language.
1. Chapter 1

**This idea has been sitting in the back of my mind for a while but it's basically fanfic of a fanfic. I'm not going to italicize the different languages as I learned that it is not actually okay to do that. I'm constantly working to be respectful to all people I represent in my stories. Honestly, all I had to go on for presenting deaf characters was my American Girl books which I don't even own anymore.**

**I learned with representing sign you would present it as any spoken language. So if a nonverbal character has 'said' under the dialogue tag, they aren't magically being verbal it's just a tag and I'll try and make sure y'all are clear on when sign is used and when spoken language is used.**

**Blind people say, "Nice to see you"**

**Non-verbal people just say things with their hands.**

**Challenges: Short Jog; Click Bait It (Y); Ethnic & Present; Neurodivergent; Tiny Terror; Quiet Time; Winter Wonderland; Rian-Russo Inversion; Letter of the Day; Old Shoes; Interesting Times; New Beginnings; Loneliness**

**Space Address: B2 - Dust**

**Word Count: 1501**

**Warnings: Severe bullying and emotional consequences of the bullying.**

Seven-year-old Hermione Granger looked up at her new home with intimidation. Her house in London was a terraced house with an olive door and she loved it dearly. This place was a Victorian style house on the edge of town detached from all the others. It was tall with red brick for the ground floor, white brick for the first floor, and a brilliant lapis blue roof with white trimmings. With the snow it looked more like Grandfather's model city for his model trains. He always had a special one for Christmas.

"Well, certainly a bit bigger than our home in London, isn't it?" said Mum, exiting the car.

"Property value is lower out here," said Dad. "But just think of how much room you'll have to play, Hermione. Maybe you'll make a friend."

Books made just fine friends for her. Her parents saw the look on her face and laughed.

"Now, now, I know things weren't so good at your old school," said Mum. "But we're getting a new start here in Ottery St. Catchpole."

That was the understatement of the year.

"Why don't you go on in and pick your room?" Mum suggested. "The movers will be along shortly."

Hermione nodded, tucked her lip under her teeth, and whistled for her dog, Winona. The Parson Russell Terrier bounded out of the car and followed her master into the house. The little girl was half expecting something covered in dust and with an eerie air like her stories, but her parents had the place professionally cleaned before moving day.

That didn't make the interior any less interesting. Mum said that it was art nouveau inside. Hermione traced her finger along the swirls in the iron and admired the colorful stained glass. She rounded the staircase and climbed up to the first floor to explore the rooms. The one marked in red tape was her parent's room. She turned around and gasped sharply at the gaping mouth of a lion.

Oh… it was a fake one attached to the bannister of the staircase. Hermione patted its head and walked away, when she looked back she did a double-take. She could have sworn its mouth was open just a moment ago. She must have been seeing things.

Hermione poked her head into rooms and opened a door to a staircase. Winona sped up them and Hermione followed to a tower. The room at the top was circular and had a bathroom attached with a sink, toilet, and clawfoot tub. It must have been very difficult to get a tub that size up here.

The room itself had tall windows, the majority of which were stained glass with butterflies and flowers and then two plain windows that opened to a balcony. Built in the walls were bookshelves. It must have been a study but it was so wonderfully secluded and magical that she couldn't help but be drawn to it. Yes. This was her room. She ran downstairs to her parents who were carrying in boxes while the movers brought in the furniture.

"Did you find a room?" Mum asked.

Hermione nodded and signed enthusiastically, "Upstairs. The tower. It's beautiful! I love it!" She made a fist, kissed the back of her hand, and pushed it out with a wide grin.

She beckoned for them to follow so they could approve it. After all, they might say no out of fear of her falling off the balcony.

"Oh, how beautiful," Mum breathed. "It is a bit smaller than the other rooms, but if you wish this to be your room then it shall be so."

Hermione grinned and hugged them. She didn't typically like physical contact, but since she was mute she often showed affection physically. Mostly through hand-squeezes or bumping her head against their leg.

"Now that this is all settled," said Mum, "how about you and Winona go outside and play while we get everything brought in?"

"Yes, Mum," she said and waved her hand for Winona to follow.

It wasn't actually that difficult to teach the dog commands in sign language. Hermione had been learning it for as long as she could remember. She was born unable to make sounds beyond soft grunts and wheezes. Not even crying. So Mum and Dad's deaf friend, Dahlia, taught her sign from infancy and made sure her parents knew it too. It would be a bit difficult now that they were so far away, especially in regards to new words, but surely somebody in this small town could sign.

Unfortunately, her mutism made her an easy target for bullies. They were of the notion that if you couldn't speak up, you couldn't very well defend yourself properly. It was amazing how horrible people became when they didn't think there were consequences for their actions. It wasn't even just the students in her year, it was the older kids as well during lunchtime and recess. It started off with them pretending she was invisible. Then they moved on to name calling about her curly hair, brown skin, and lack of ability to speak. Then they started pulling on her hair or taking her things. Before long, it escalated to where she could no longer hide her injuries from her parents.

She doubted it would be any better here, but the smaller town would make it easier for her parents to keep an eye on her. They'd be able to intervene faster with bullying assuming the teachers even cared.

Winona barked, startling her out of her negative thought spiral. Hermione furrowed her brow and wiggled her forefinger from side-to-side by her head. Winona spun around in a circle.

Oh. Play.

Hermione took the tennis ball out of her pocket and threw it as hard as she could. Winona chased after it and brought it back, her long legs kicking up snow. Looking on the horizon, she could see three other houses amongst the wind-breaking lines of trees. One looked like three smaller houses stacked precariously on top of one another, one looked like a miniature castle, and the third was an Edwardian manor flanked by a massive barn.

She kept walking, minding not to stray too far and, upon reaching the top of the hill, saw a group of children having a snowball fight. If she had to guess, she would say all the pale-skinned, freckled redheads were related. There were about seven of them, the youngest slightly younger than her and the oldest being around sixteen. There was also a brunette older than Hermione, a blonde younger than Hermione, and an older boy with a sandy complexion.

"Look! A dog!" the little redheaded girl called, pointing to Winona.

"Be careful, Ginny," the eldest boy called.

Hermione timidly walked towards them, trying to gauge their reactions towards someone new. A boy with glasses ducked a stray snowball, which unfortunately made the only path towards her. It smacked her in the face and knocked her clear on her back.

"Ooh! Heads up!"

Sitting up, she saw a few of the older boys walking towards her. She scrambled to her feet and ran away in a panic, Winona hot on her heels.

"Nice, Ron."

"I was aiming for Percy!"

Hermione hurried back home and sat on the porch to wait until she could come inside. Winona whined and licked her cheeks. Figured this place would be like all the others. Not even here for ten minutes and she got hit with a snowball. What was next? Rocks? They were sure to recognize her at school on Monday.

Mum left the house and looked startled to see her.

"Oh, you're back already?"

Hermione clenched her fists and shook them by her shoulders while mouthing, "cold."

Mum smiled and nodded.

"Well, all your things are in your room if you'd like to warm up in there. Just be mindful not to get in the way."

Hermione went inside and retreated to her room. There, she opened up the box with her decorative stickers and went about pasting them on the door and wooden panels in her room. Then she opened her balcony doors to let out the musty smell. She realized she could see the playing kids from her perch. They seemed to have moved on from snowballs and were making snowmen and snow angels instead. She was too far away for them to notice, thankfully. Well, she thought.

The little blonde girl stopped what she was doing and waved at her. Hermione backpedaled into her room and shut the doors. She busied herself by shelving her books until she was called down for supper.

By then the movers had gone. Dad ran out and brought home takeaway. It made no sense to cook since everything was still in boxes. Hermione poked at her macaroni while her parents talked about The Plan. How they were going to be more involved in her life to make sure that she didn't have a repeat of London.

She didn't dare to hope.


	2. Chapter 2

**Space Address: D1 – Zoo**

**Challenges: Short Jog; Click Bait It; The Real MC; Cuppa; Friendship; Risk; Ethnic & Present; Neurodivergent; Tiny Terror; Quiet Time; Winter Wonderland; Rian-Russo Inversion; Letter of the Day; Old Shoes; Interesting Times**

**Word Count: 1785**

**Warnings: Bullying**

~o0o~

To her surprise, none of the kids playing in the snow the other day were at her new school. It wasn't terribly big, only about twenty children in her class alone. She was hoping to just put her backpack in her cubby and hide behind her school books all day. Maybe she could play off as the shy kid.

No such luck. Once everyone had entered the classroom, Mr. Hopkins stood up from his desk.

"Good morning, students," he said. "As I'm sure you've all noticed, we have a new student today. Miss Hermione Granger, would you please stand?"

"Hermione?" one girl whispered. "What kind of name is that?"

Feeling her ears get hot, Hermione got up and stood next to the teacher.

"Now Miss Granger is a _special_ student," Mr. Hopkins continued. "She is mute. Can anyone tell me what that means?"

Hermione was mortified. Her disability was getting treated as a class lesson! The longer she stood there, the more embarrassed she became until finally she was released to return to her desk. She could feel everyone's eyes on her through the first two periods. Since the snow had stopped, they were let outside for break. The teachers who were supposed to be monitoring the students clustered together for gossip while everyone else spread out to their cliques, either to chit-chat or finish the homework they had over winter holiday.

"RAGH!"

Hermione jumped and gasped. A group of boys laughed at her. One was skinny like a beanpole, one was fairly short, and the third was average.

"What gives?" the boy who shouted asked. "I thought you couldn't hear. Or are you just a faker for special treatment?"

Scowling, Hermione took out the whiteboard and marker she used to answer questions in class and scribbled out: _Not Deaf. Mute._

"So you're just stupid then," said the skinny one. "My dad said people who couldn't speak were dumb."

She wasn't stupid. Why did they always assume she was stupid?

"If you were smart you would be able to talk," chimed the short one. "It's not that hard."

It was if you were born with damaged vocal chords. Hermione stuck her nose in the air and marched away from them. If nobody was going to be her friend then fine, she wasn't going to try.

Mum picked her up after school.

"How was it?" she asked.

Her eyes were so full of hope, Hermione didn't have the heart to tell her that it was as bad as her old school.

"Fine," she lied.

"Did you make any friends?"

"Not yet."

"Well, it was only the first day. Don't lose heart."

Too late.

Hermione looked out the window and sighed through her nose.

"What on earth?" Mum whispered.

Standing in their driveway was a large, gold horse. A boy bundled up in a scarlet cloak was carrying a basket and peering through the front window.

"Little red riding hood came to call," said Mum, laughing. She looked at Hermione. "Don't tell him I said that."

They both got out of the car and walked up.

"Excuse me," Mum called. "Who are you?"

The boy whirled around and Hermione recognized him from the playing children. Up close she could see he had startling grey eyes and dark hair poking out from under his knitted cap.

"I'm Cedric Diggory, ma'am," he said. "I always deliver Mrs. Roseberg's milk and eggs on Monday afternoons."

"Mrs. Roseberg doesn't live here anymore," said Mum. "We bought the house from her. I think she said she was moving in with her sister."

"Oh, I hadn't heard."

"It's quite alright." Mum waved her hand. "I haven't gotten a chance to go shopping so we could use some milk and eggs. In fact why don't we keep up those deliveries? Farm fresh milk and eggs sounds wonderful."

Cedric looked at Hermione who was partially hiding behind Mum.

"I saw you the other day," he said. "We never got the chance to invite you to play."

"We?"

Cedric looked at Mum. "The other kids in this area. There's the Weasleys, Rebecca Fawcett, my cousin Luna Lovegood, and then me."

"Do you all go to Hermione's school?"

"Er—no… We're homeschooled by our mums. Well, Luna's parents work, so she gets taught by my mum. She's about four years younger than me so she's just starting on the basics."

That sounded nice. Being able to learn at your own pace.

"How old are you?" Mum asked.

"Nine, ma'am."

"Hermione here turned seven in September." Mum gave her a look. "Why don't you say hello?"

Great, and give the kid who she'll be forced to see each week cannon fodder. Still, Hermione stepped forward and obliged.

"Hello, my name is Hermione." Her name signed was holding her palm flat in front of her like she was holding a book and waving the letter 'H' over it.

"Hermione can't talk," said Mum.

Hermione swatted her leg.

"Well, you can't, love."

"So, instead of talking like we do she uses her hands?" Cedric asked.

"Yes, exactly. It's called sign language."

"Cool!"

What? Hermione furrowed her brow at the boy's look of utter delight. No snickering, no condescending grins, just pure glee.

"I know other languages," he said. "Like Arabic, Tamazight, and French, but I never heard of a sign language. Where can I learn?"

"Perhaps Hermione could teach you."

Cedric looked at her eagerly.

She sighed and nodded.

"Great. I actually finished my rounds, can we start now?"

"It's still early," said Mum. "Only if your mother says you can."

"I'll go tell her." Cedric gave her his basket with the eggs and milk, mounted his horse, and galloped away.

"What a nice boy."

"For all we know he could be a horrible boy!" Hermione threw angrily and stormed into the house.

"Hermione!" Mum chided. "At least give him a chance."

She whirled around. "I give plenty of people plenty of chances!"

"Well just give one more person one chance."

Hermione huffed and went upstairs to change out of her uniform and put her things away. They would see if Cedric even returned.

After putting on her jeans and a warm sweater, she went back down to the kitchen with her work book and sat at the table. Mum helped her with the more difficult sections before setting about making avena caliente, a hot drink from South America where Mum was from.

Just as she finished maths, the doorbell rang.

"Hermione, go answer it," said Mum.

Hermione snapped her fingers to get Winona's attention and gestured for the dog to follow her to the door.

When she opened it, Cedric and a set of twins were standing there. They had freckled faces and crooked grins. The kind of smile that would have teachers putting them in a desk over in Siberia to remain out of trouble.

"This is Fred and George," said Cedric. "They're pretty much my best friends aside from Daffodil, my horse. They want to learn sign, too."

"It'd be brilliant to be able to talk about whatever we want under our mum's nose," said one.

"Sorry our little brother Ronniekins is a bit of a prat," said the other. "If Mum knew you lived here, she would have marched him over to apologize."

Hermione raspberried and rolled her eyes. She didn't want a forced apology anyway. Against all judgement, she stepped aside and let them in. They looked around the house with interest as if a stereo or television set was new to them.

"Dad would go bananas if he saw these things," a twin whispered.

Hermione whistled for their attention and waved for them to follow her back to the kitchen. Winona was practically drooling all over Cedric, sniffing his shoes and the hems of his trousers as if trying to figure out where he'd been.

"Hello," said Mum. "Now, tell me your names?"

They introduced themselves and Hermione noted that Fred had higher inflections in his voice and George was slightly taller. Now she knew the difference.

"Pleasure to meet you all, I am Beatrice, and of course this is Hermione. Would you boys prefer tea or avena caliente? It's oatmeal and hot milk."

They agreed on the avena and sat at the table. Mum also placed a plate of shortbread biscuits on the table.

"I'll be in the parlor if you need me," she said.

Hermione stared the three of them down and wrote out on her white board.

_Why are you here?_

"We want to learn sign," said Cedric. He slurped out of his mug. "Wow. This is good, I'll have to get the recipe for Tavi."

_You're not here to make fun?_

"No," said Fred. "You'll know when we're making fun."

Hermione narrows her eyes suspiciously.

"Tough crowd," said George with a small laugh.

Winona seemed to like them and that dog didn't typically like anybody. She didn't even like Mum and Dad half the time.

_You boys get one chance._ She wrote. _I'm tired of getting hurt._

"We wouldn't hurt you," said Cedric, looking at the twins. "Right?"

They nodded in unison.

_Fine. We'll start with the alphabet and basic phrases._

They seemed to do okay for a stretch before growing slightly restless. Hermione couldn't blame them. She'd been learning this since she was a baby, but you could only take so much learning in one sitting. After she made sure they at least had the alphabet down, she picked up her whiteboard so they could chat.

_Why don't you go to school?_

"I learn much more useful things from my mum," said Cedric. "Things that will help me when I go to secondary school. Latin and Greek for one, and she also teaches me Arabic. My grandmum is Algerian and Sudanese, so she speaks Arabic and Berber."

"We learn some stuff from our mum," said George. "Like reading and writing. Nothing to the extent of brainiac Ced, but school isn't really our thing anyway."

"We're more into fun things," said Fred. "Jokes, pranks, drives Mum mad."

Hermione wasn't big on jokes. Mainly because she was the one on the receiving end.

_I guess someone has to be or the world would be very boring._

"Ah, so you get it."

Mum entered the room.

"Don't mind me," she said, "just getting dinner started."

"I should get home," said Cedric.

"Us, too," said Fred and George.

"Can we meet again tomorrow for more sign lessons?" Cedric asked.

Hermione blinked and looked at her mum.

"It's all right with me," she said.

Hermione nodded and showed the boys to the door. She wasn't going to get her hopes up. They'd soon get bored with her and find excuses to stop coming around.


	3. Chapter 3

**Warnings: Bullying and use of derogatory terms towards a black person.**

**Space Address: A3 – Orange**

**Challenges: Short Jog (Y); Friendship; Protection; Ethnic & Present; Neurodivergent; Tiny Terror; Quiet Time; Winter Wonderland; Rian-Russo Inversion; Letter of the Day; Old Shoes; Interesting Times**

**Word Count: 2076**

Spring came and Hermione was counting down the days for summer holiday. Her classmates were still awful to her, but she always had her visits with Cedric, Fred, and George to look forward to after school. Somehow they hadn't grown bored of her and she dared to believe they were good friends. There were a couple times where she had to explain that she didn't find certain jokes funny and they had to tell her when she was being harsh or snappy.

She was learning from them as much as they were learning from her.

With the nicer weather, students were allowed to eat lunch outside. Hermione sat at the edge of the fence and nibbled on her sandwich while she watched the crowd. She wished her friends were there.

Almost as if she wished them into existence, she heard two familiar voices.

"Hi, Hermione."

She looked over her shoulder to see the twins and Cedric grinning at her.

"You're here!" She moved so she was facing them. "How did you get here?"

"Daffodil took us," said Cedric, signing clumsily as he spoke.

"Thought you might like some company," said George.

"It was my idea," said Fred.

"It was all our idea," Cedric corrected.

"Not really." Fred winked and Hermione beamed.

"Lunch is so boring alone," she slumped over and rolled her eyes. "If I'm going to spend the whole time reading, I'd at least like some company."

"We can't do this every day," said Cedric apologetically. "I've got chores and lessons of my own."

"And Mum makes it hard to sneak away," Fred added.

"It's just nice that you're all here." She flapped her hands happily and little multi-colored sparks flew around her.

The boys looked absolutely delighted by this. They exchanged looks and nodded.

"Hermione, we got a secret we want to tell you," said George.

"Hey, golliwog."

Hermione flinched and tried not to look at her main tormentors. She couldn't be bothered to learn their names if they refused to learn hers. Besides, it wasn't like anyone was going to ask who was hurting or insulting her every day.

"What's a golliwog?" Fred asked.

"Bad word for me," Hermione explained and they looked outraged.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you, thick lips!"

That's it. Hermione jumped to her feet and punched him in the nose. He was older and bigger, but she didn't care.

"Freak!" he spat. "We're gonna make you wish you never moved here."

"Let's see if she actually can make a sound," the skinny one sneered and pulled on her hair.

Before they could go in for the kill, they were attacked from the side. Hermione was so caught up in defending herself that she didn't see how Cedric, Fred, and George were reacting.

A crowd of students had gathered, egging on the fight.

"WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?" Mrs. Sutton bellowed.

Hermione whistled sharply and her boys looked at her.

"Come on!" she said, stressing her urgency. "Let's go!"

The four of them scaled the fence and took off running. Daffodil wasn't far and Cedric untied the reins while Fred and George pushed Hermione onto her back before scrambling on themselves.

"Oi, you! Stop right there!"

George and Fred scrambled onto their stomachs and Cedric hauled himself up halfway.

"Hiyah!" he shouted and Daffodil took off at a gallop.

Hermione grabbed onto George for dear life and hid her face in his shirt. She'd never ridden a horse before and was absolutely terrified. Not just from the joy ride but also the fact that she had punched a bully in the face, her friends jumped in to defend her, and if pattern recognition told her anything, she was the one who would get in trouble.

They didn't slow down until they reached the fields. Daffodil trotted, bouncing the four kids.

"How are you holding on?" Hermione asked Cedric.

"I'm Junior Division horse show champion two years in a row," he said. "There's a division for tricks."

"Can we stop for a minute?" Fred asked. "It looks like you hunted me."

"Sure thing." Cedric brought the horse to a halt and the boys slid off.

Hermione was a little afraid to climb down, so Fred and George let her use their shoulders as a bracing since they were tallest.

Once she was grounded, she pulled them all into a giant hug and started crying.

"Hey, don't cry," said Cedric. "If you start crying then I'm going to start crying."

"It's true," said Fred. "He's a weeper."

Hermione stepped back so they could see her.

"That was the greatest thing anyone has ever done for me." It was difficult signing and wiping her tears away. "You guys are the best friends anyone could ask for."

"Aww, Hermione." George hugged her tightly.

Fred and Cedric piled in.

Even if she had to return to school tomorrow, she comforted herself with the fact that she had some pretty great friends ready to back her up whenever they could.

Hermione gasped sharply, causing the boys to back away.

"I ditched school!" She paced back and forth, fretting. "Mum and Dad will be furious! I've never skived off before! They're going to ground me."

"Calm down, Hermione," said Fred.

"Yeah, your parents think the world of you," George added. "You shouldn't get in trouble for a first offense."

"But I had these troubles at my last school," Hermione sighed. "I don't want to move again."

"I've got an idea," said Cedric. "I'll meet you back at your house."

He easily swung onto Daffodil's back and took off at a canter towards his house.

Fred and George each slung an arm around Hermione's neck and walked with her to her house, constantly reassuring that she wasn't going to be in trouble and if she was then they'd take the blame.

"We'd walk through fire for you," said George.

"Well, maybe not fire," Fred teased. "But an uncomfortably hot room."

"Not too hot though," said George. "Only if it were a little too humid."

Hermione laughed and wrapped her arms around them. When they reached her house, she realized she left her backpack behind at school and therefore didn't have her key.

Heaving a sigh, she sat down on the porch swing to wait for her parents to come home. Fred and George sat on either side of her.

It actually didn't take long. No doubt the school called her parents and they had finished up their appointments and rushed home to see if she were there.

"Hermione Jean Granger," said Mum. "You have some serious explaining to do!"

Fred and George jumped to their feet. "It wasn't her fault!"

"She was pushed!"

"He called her mean names!"

Hermione touched their arms to silence them. She stood and approached her parents.

"I know you wanted me to be happy here," she said. "And I am over all. I have three amazing friends who sneaked away to visit me and then defended me. I never had that before. I hate school. I hate the bullies. But I love my friends. I'm sorry I ran from school, but please understand that I'm going to deal with this everywhere I go."

Mum and Dad sighed and knelt down in front of her.

"Are you hurt?" Dad asked.

"Just a bruise."

"I'm sorry, Hermione," said Mum. "We had hoped that with a smaller town we'd be able to be more involved. We'll still need to meet with the principal and sort this out."

Hermione felt sick to her stomach at the thought. What if he tries to make her apologize to the bullies?

The thud of hooves halted the thoughts. Hermione looked around her parents to see two horses. Cedric was on golden Daffodil and a sturdy woman with long black hair and sienna skin was beside him on a large silver horse. She looked like the hero in Hermione's fantasy novels with her long, blue dress and stoic expression. Hermione half expected to see her wielding a sword. She must've been Cedric's mother.

She dismounted her horse and smiled.

"Hi, I'm Belphoebe Diggory, Cedric's mum."

Dad shook her offered hand.

"Roger Granger," he said. "This is my wife, Beatriz."

"So, Cedric told me your daughter was having school troubles," she said.

"Er, yes, but it's more the bullying," said Mum uncomfortably. "Hermione is as bright as they come."

"So I've been told," said Mrs. Diggory. "Well, I think I have a solution. See, I homeschool Cedric and my niece Luna. Perhaps I could homeschool Hermione as well, so long as she doesn't mind a different academic structure."

Mum and Dad looked at each other.

"Let's go inside and talk," said Mum at last. "Hermione, why don't you and your friends go play upstairs?"

Hermione nodded and once the front door was unlocked, she led the boys up to the playroom where she took down a board game. Winona was thrilled to have everyone home and was drooling all over Cedric.

"You said you had a secret to tell me," she said.

"What's this word?" Cedric asked, signing, "secret."

She finger-spelled it for them and they copied the sign as if committing it to memory. They then looked at each other and scooted closer.

"You tell her, Ced," said Fred.

"You know how earlier today when you flapped your hands you made the colors?" Cedric whispered.

Hermione felt her ears heat up. "It was an accident! A trick of the light! I keep glitter in my pockets!"

The three of them laughed.

"It's okay," said George. "We know what you are."

"And what am I?" she demanded.

"A witch," said Cedric. "Magic is real, Hermione. George, Fred, and I are witches as well. In a few years we're gonna go to Hogwarts in Scotland and learn magic. I told my mum and she's going to teach you to prepare for magic school."

"We should get in on that," said Fred to George.

"Agreed."

Hermione stared at them. They may be tricksters but they would never lie to her like this. Besides, it would have explained so many things. How books on high shelves made their way into her hands, the sparks that flew when she flapped her hands excitedly, or other odd things.

"Do you need proof?" George asked.

"I imagine I'll get it in time," she replied. "Is everyone in your families magic?"

"Just about," said George. "My brothers Bill, Charlie, and Percy are already at Hogwarts."

"Is this why you have no idea what a television is?"

"Yeah," Cedric admitted. "Magic and technology don't mix. Yet."

"Cedric has it in his head he's gonna be the first to combine the two," said George.

"Well, when I become rich and famous I just might give you the money for your joke shop," he retorted.

"That was an odd way to make a threat," Hermione teased, making them laugh.

"That's because Ced doesn't have a mean bone in his body," said Fred, putting his friend in a headlock. "It's like being threatened by a puppy."

"Yeah? Well this puppy can lasso a calf in less than a minute!" Cedric wiggled out of his grasp and pinned him to the floor.

Hermione scooted away so she wouldn't get caught up in their rough-housing. Winona bounced around them and licked ears and hands.

"Okay! I give!" Fred shouted when he was pinned again.

Mum, Dad, and Belphoebe entered the room. Cedric let go of Fred.

"Alright, Hermione," said Dad. "We're going to go to the school now to fetch your things and then that's it. You don't have to go there again."

"Belphoebe told us all about her lesson plans," Mum continued. "We think it would be a perfect fit for you. We'll drive you over tomorrow morning, but lessons start at ten."

"Farm chores," said Belphoebe, opening her hands. "Now, Cedric has been teaching me some sign since he became friends with you. I think we can work that into our lessons."

Fred and George stood up.

"Will you teach us, too?" they asked.

Mrs. Diggory blinked in surprise.

"Of course, but it will be up to your mum."

"We'll get her to say 'yes,'" said George.

Hermione got up and hugged her parents tightly. Homeschooling would be a much better fit for her, she was sure.

And then there was Hogwarts that the boys told her about. But for now, she got to go learn with her best friends.


	4. Chapter 4

**There's gonna be some universe alterations in this chapter. I mean… more than usual.**

**Space Address: B5 – Moon**

**Word Count: 2848**

**Warnings:**

**Challenges: Short Jog; Slytherin MC; Homeschooled!; Learning; Innocence; Ethnic & Present; Neurodivergent; Tiny Terror; Quiet Time; Winter Wonderland; Rian-Russo Inversion; Letter of the Day; Old Shoes; Interesting Times**

**AN: Expect some time jumps in this chapter. I don't want to spend too long. Just picture it as a montage.**

Hermione wasn't sure what she'd need for Mrs. Diggory's class, so she just brought pens and notebooks in her little backpack. Mrs. Diggory was also going to let Winona come over with her so she wasn't alone at the house all day.

"We'll be back to pick you up this evening," said Mum.

"Be good," said Dad.

"I will," she assured them and walked around to the back where Mrs. Diggory said to go.

The barn was much bigger up close and attached were several pens. There were pigs, goats, cows, chickens, ducks, and horses. The sheep must've been out in the fields. Mrs. Diggory was tending a large vegetable garden and there were several short rows of trees ripe with fruit. Hermione recognized apple, orange, and peach.

"Good morning, Hermione," said Mrs. Diggory. "Class won't begin for another couple hours yet, but you're welcome to wait inside."

Hermione scribbled out on her white board: _I want to help!_

Mrs. Diggory smiled. "Alright, then you can help Luna pick fruit."

She pointed to a girl with long blonde hair. She was the one who waved to Hermione. What was her name? That's right. Luna.

Hermione approached and whistled to make her presence known. The girl looked down from the top of the ladder with wide eyes as if she were in a constant state of surprise.

"Hello," she said. "I'm Luna Lovegood. You're Cedric's friend Hermione."

Hermione nodded.

"Cedric's taking the sheep to field so you and I can pick fruit. It's jam making day. Tavi makes the best jam."

"Who's Tavi?" Hermione asked before picking up a basket and placing it on her head.

"Tavi is a house-elf." Luna tossed down the ripe fruit while Hermione moved around to catch it in the basket. "Normally they're enslaved, but she is a freed elf. Has been since Grannie Basira married Grandpa Perry."

Hermione furrowed her brow and looked up at Luna in alarm. Witches kept slaves?

"Don't worry. The majority of the house-elves live at Hogwarts and Auntie Bel and Mummy started an organization to free them," Luna continued. "Now they wear clothes and get paid wages. Mummy said it was difficult to get them to accept it but now they're as happy as ever. Unfortunately, they couldn't get the Wizengamot to agree to free all elves as the Pureblooded families who own elves swayed the vote." Luna leaned forward so far, Hermione was worried she might fall out of the tree. "It's all part of a conspiracy to turn the government into an oligarchy and stamp out the voice of the working class."

"What are you two talking about?" Mrs. Diggory asked.

"Government conspiracies," said Luna cheerfully.

"Well, while you're at it I'll bring these batches to the kitchen." Mrs. Diggory drew a wand from her sleeve and flicked it. The baskets sprouted legs and marched to the house.

Hermione dropped her own basket and gawked. Sure, her friends told her magic existed, but it was another thing to see it in action on purpose!

"How?!" she threw.

Mrs. Diggory laughed.

"Don't worry, you'll learn this your first year at Hogwarts."

Shortly after Hermione and Luna finished picking, Cedric returned on horseback with Fred and George in tow. It was a long walk from their house to Cedric's so it made sense for him to pick them up.

"Habibi, go wash up while I give your friends orientation," Mrs. Diggory suggested.

"Sure thing, Mum," said Cedric, quickly taking care of the horse so he could run inside.

Belphoebe led the others in through the back door. In the kitchen, a little creature with bat-like ears and brown eyes the size of snow globes was sorting through the fruit. On a large stove were several pots and the fruit seemed to be chopping itself up and dividing into the pots.

"Good morning, Belphoebe," said the elf, not looking up from her sorting. "Will the children be needing anything?"

"I can manage them a snack tray," said Mrs. Diggory. "Don't worry about us."

So that was a house-elf.

After putting together a snack tray, Mrs. Diggory led them all out the kitchen into a large dining room, then through a study, then into a parlor. It seemed this house was so old it didn't have hallways. It looked like a house-turned-museum with damask wallpaper, shelves packed with family heirlooms and pictures, and an air of "touch this and alarms will go off and you will be forcibly removed from the premises." How did a place this stuffy produce such kind and warm people like Cedric and Mrs. Diggory? They passed through the foyer, then a room with a fireplace so big a grown man could walk into it without ducking, another study, and finally a library two stories tall.

Hermione took in the sight and began flapping her hands excitedly. It was so wonderful! She could live in a place like this. The yellow and pink sparks flew around her head.

"I like books, too," said Mrs. Diggory. "Go on and pick your seats everyone."

There were five individual desks set up in front of a massive chalkboard. Hermione took one of the ones in front while Fred and George sat behind her. Winona laid down at Hermione's feet.

Mrs. Diggory passed out workbooks. "Luna, since you know what's going on, why don't you go ahead and practice your alphabets?"

"Yes, Auntie Bel." Luna opened one up and began working.

"Alright, kids," said Mrs. Diggory. "I'm going to go ahead and start you three from the beginning. My classes are to prepare you for Hogwarts. It's just like doing laps or lifting weights to practice for sports. Mental exercises to get you in the set for a learning environment. We will be going over Latin, Greek, and Akkadian for spells; beginner's arithmancy; ancient runes of Celtic, Norse, and Tamazight origin; transfiguration equations; basic potion making; and, of course, your essays will help you with sentence structure as well as spelling, grammar, and punctuation. I know it all sounds a little intimidating, but we'll just work through a few subjects each day. You're still children, I want you to have time to play."

~o0o~

Hermione loved learning under the tutelage of Mrs. Diggory. Fred and George seemed to as well, despite their claims that school wasn't their thing. It wasn't like regular school, it didn't feel like imprisonment with bad food, strict orders, and an overall sense of crushing despair.

They got frequent breaks, praise for work well done, and they could work at their own pace. Mrs. Diggory didn't even make them ask to use the loo, they were allowed to just go. It was also nice to be able to snack while working. For the last thirty minutes of class time, Hermione was given the floor to teach sign language since Miss Dahlia was starting to come almost every weekend to teach her more and keep her updated on slang.

Once the kids were released from class, they played outside or, if the weather didn't permit it, they did stuff indoors. Each day someone got to pick what they would do so it would range from acting out fight scenes from books (Cedric) to puzzles (Hermione) to pick-up Quidditch (Fred) to board games (George) to creature search (Luna).

Luna had become a new addition to the group. She was completely barmy yet also incredibly insightful in the most blunt of ways. Hermione didn't know what she was talking about half the time, but Cedric could always roll with it, so she followed his lead.

Besides, who was to say the creatures Luna talked about didn't exist? There was a time Hermione had no clue magic even existed. Who was to say what she'd know tomorrow?

The next two years went by in a flash. Birthdays and Christmases were all spent together in some way or other.

On his eleventh birthday on October 12th, Cedric's Hogwarts letter had arrived and Mrs. Diggory had a special lesson for them all that day.

"One day, the five of you will be at Hogwarts together," she said. "I want all of you to pay attention to what I say here and now and take it to heart. Hogwarts is divided into four Houses: Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. You will be Sorted into one of these Houses based on a trait which you value most as well as how you view magic. I want you all to know that one House isn't better than the others no matter what people say. I was in Slytherin and people from Ravenclaw and Gryffindor avoided me like the plague because of something Salazar Slytherin believed years ago."

"What did he believe?" Hermione asked.

"He didn't think Muggle-borns like you should be allowed to attend," she explained honestly. "It is important to look at the context of this, however. Hogwarts was founded when there were a lot of witch hunters about. He was worried that a Muggle-born would be found out and unintentionally lead witch hunters to Hogwarts during their search for safety or worse, betray their fellow witches in exchange for their own life. Unfortunately, the others took this to mean he didn't think they deserved an education at all and so only half and purebloods are placed into Slytherin. For now. So if any of you are placed in Slytherin, it's important to remain friends and not fall into the loud minority of blood purists. Of course, the other houses have their fair share of purists and bigots. People just pay closer attention to the ones in Slytherin.

"Hufflepuffs get stereotyped as duffers when really they value kindness and acceptance. There is nothing stupid about wanting to be kind. Gryffindors are often seen as foolhardy bullies, but they'll back you up in a fight if you earn their trust. And Ravenclaws aren't necessarily the smart kids, but the ones who value learning and trying new things. Do you all understand me?"

Hermione nodded silently and the others followed.

"Very good. Let's move on."

The following April, Fred and George received their letters on their birthday. They proudly showed Hermione their letters at class.

"I'm happy for you," she told them. "But I'm sad, too. You boys are my best friends and this September you're going to be gone."

"Aw, it won't be forever," said Cedric. "Before you know it, you'll be at Hogwarts with us."

"And you have me," said Luna. "And Auntie Bel."

Hermione smiled and pulled Luna into a side hug.

_November, 1989_

It just seemed like a normal day. Hermione missed her friends terribly and was counting down the days to winter holiday, but she and Luna were bonding more and she was starting to get to know Ginny who was Luna's best friend. That girl only had two loves in life. Quidditch and Harry Potter. She had an entire series of books that detailed Harry's adventures since he defeated a dark lord. When Hermione brought up the fact that a one year old shouldn't be going on adventures, her parents told her that's how they felt about Nancy Drew.

It was fiction, so she let it go. These past few years, she learned that friendship didn't necessarily stem from similar interests but a compatibility and desire to understand what made others happy.

Fred, George, and Cedric sent her frequent letters about Hogwarts. Cedric had been sorted into Hufflepuff and had made friends with an older girl, Tonks, and was good pals with his roommates. Fred and George had been Sorted into Slytherin which surprised them both. Weasleys had always been sorted into Gryffindor, but since Belphoebe opened their minds to other Houses, the Sorting Hat had been more thoughtful with their placement than Bill, Charlie, or Percy. They were settling in well and claimed that the house needed them. Someone had to take the sticks out of—

"Alright, girls," said Belphoebe, "why don't we take a break and have some cocoa?"

Hermione and Luna waved their hands in the air.

Their cheer was short-lived as the fireplace turned green. Mrs. Weasley, a woman Hermione only met in passing, appeared as a disembodied head. In the midst of flames, her tear-streaked face wavered.

"Molly," Belphoebe gasped. "What happened?"

"Something awful! Can you bring Hermione to the Burrow? It's about George."

"Yes, we can be there in fifteen minutes."

The flames returned to their normal orange and Belphoebe stood.

"Let's go, girls," she said. "Leave your things."

Belphoebe hooked up the Percheron, Tucker, to the cart and made sure Luna and Hermione were holding on tight before she got in the drivers seat and took off towards the Burrow.

As they rattled over the uneven fields, millions of thoughts ran through Hermione's head as to what happened to George. None of them were good. Luna must've picked up on it because she reached out and took Hermione's hand. Words wouldn't have helped, but the small gesture calmed her nerves until they reached the Weasley house.

Mr. Weasley opened the Dutch door to the kitchen. Hermione clambered out of the cart and ran up to the house.

"He's upstairs in his room," said Mr. Weasley. "Let me show you."

"What happened Arthur?" Belphoebe asked.

"We aren't sure yet. Fred can't stop crying long enough to tell us even after three days. It's a good thing Molly was training to be a Mediwitch before she became a stay-at-home mother. George can wake up at home instead of at St. Mungo's."

THREE DAYS?!

Hermione spluttered in outrage and shoved past Mr. Weasley to get upstairs to the second floor. Mrs. Weasley was tending to George in his bed. The boy looked as if he'd been chewed up and spit out by some wild animal. Fred was sitting on the bed closest to the wall so he wouldn't get in the way.

When he saw Hermione, he climbed off the end and hugged her tightly.

"What happened?" she asked. "Use sign."

Fred sniffled and hiccupped. His movements were shaky and uncertain, but his point got across better than trying to talk around snot-filled sobs.

"George and I were experimenting with some potions and we had a bad talking moment. I thought he put in… uh… leaf and I added the powder. Wrong order. I stepped away to get the next item and then I hit the table." He pointed to the bruise on his forehead. "George wasn't so lucky. He was stirring it at the time. It's all my fault!"

Hermione hugged Fred tightly while he sobbed.

"What did he say?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

Hermione opened her mouth and looked at Luna.

"They were working on a potion for class, I believe," said Luna. "There was a…" she signed the word chain. "Miscommunication about the order of ingredients. George got the brunt of it."

"IT'S MY FAULT!" Fred wailed.

Hermione grunted and smacked him.

"Ow! What gives?"

"Look at me," said Hermione.

"I am looking at you."

"Listen!" Hermione huffed. "We live in a dangerous, volatile world. We carry both weapons and tools everywhere with us! Being a witch is an occupational hazard. Accidents happen! If George were going to die, we wouldn't be here. He'd be at St. Mungo's. I know things are scary now, but you have to get a grip. Eat something! And shower because you smell worse than Cedric after he mucks the stable in August."

She gagged and Fred chuckled and wiped his face.

"I get your point. But I don't want to leave him, what if he wakes up?"

Hermione sat on the bed and tucked her feet under herself and waved for him to go.

"I believe Hermione said baths and a good meal were in order," said Mr. Weasley.

"You all go ahead and take care of yourselves," said Belphoebe. "I've seen my fair share of injuries you know, so George will be fine for an hour or two."

Arthur led Fred out, but Mrs. Weasley took the most convincing until her husband fetched her. Hermione took her hat and coat off and hung them on the bedpost. Belphoebe sat down in the chair and folded her hands in her lap while Luna wandered off to find Ginny. Ron passed by the room every few minutes, poking his head in and walking away when Belphoebe or Hermione greeted him. Guess he had his own way of showing he cared.

Just as the smell of dinner began wafting up the stairs, George stirred and coughed. Slowly, his eyes fluttered open and he looked at Hermione.

"Hey," she said. "You had me worried there."

"Guess now we know whose favorite you are," he teased and frowned. "Whose favorite you are… Whose…"

"What's wrong?"

"George are you okay?" Belphoebe asked, touching his shoulder.

He looked startled to see her there. Slowly, he raised his hand to his ear and snapped them, making a sharp sound. He furrowed his brow and snapped his fingers again.

"I… I can't hear anything." He looked at Hermione, eyes wide with panic. "I can't hear anything!"


	5. Chapter 5

Space Address: B1 - Change

Word Count: 2641

Warnings:

AN: Please, don't demand updates from me. I have a full-time job and I don't have time to write as much anymore. I can only focus on so much. Please be warned that testing me on this may end up in an insta-block. Especially if things are demanded of me after a ten-hour shift. I'm the author, I get to make the rules.

Am I shamelessly referencing Hogwarts Mystery? Yes. Yes, I am.

~o0o~

George sat up in his bed looking lost in thought. He was recovering well from his injuries, but he still couldn't hear. Hermione insisted on visiting him every day and her parents had given her permission to.

"It's strange," George said at last. "All I really hear anymore is this high-pitched whine and garbles. Everyone has been walking on eggshells around me and I can't stand it."

Hermione moved her checker as she contemplated her words.

"Are there a lot of deaf wizards?" she asked.

"If there are, I don't know about them," he replied. "Mrs. Diggory and Mrs. Lovegood said they're looking up books for me so I can continue learning magic, but I don't think Mum wants me to go back to Hogwarts."

Hermione snorted. "That's dumb! You can't just not go to school!"

"I don't know how else to convince her. She's really over-protective."

She tapped her nails against the board in thought then snapped her fingers.

"I know," she said. "You and I will work really hard to make a system. You can be my voice and I'll be your ears. When she sees how well we do and how we can adapt, she'll have to let you go back. Especially if I'm dependent on you."

"But that's almost two years away, Hermione. I can't re-start school that late…"

"Better late than not at all. Maybe they'll let me start school early. We can at least try, and if you have to be homeschooled for the rest of your school days, then I will be too."

George smiled.

"Thanks, Hermione. Besides, it's not like I like school. It's more about the social experience than anything."

"I understand. Well, sort of. I don't need school to make friends, I have you, Fred, Cedric, and Luna. But I'd like to go to school to keep being with you all."

By the time Hermione had to leave, George appeared to be in better spirits than he had been.

"My Aunt Dahlia is visiting tonight and tomorrow," said Hermione. "But I promise I'll be back the next day with some new words to teach you."

"She runs the Deaf school, right?"

"Not runs, she's just a teacher there."

"How come you never went to the Deaf School?"

"Well, I'm not Deaf, and they don't really get a lot of funding. Aunt Dahlia, Mum, and Dad work to get more, but the school boards don't really care."

"Why not?"

Hermione looked at her watch and sighed.

"I really can't stay, George, I have to get home before the snow gets too heavy."

"I'll walk you home," he said and pushed back his covers.

"You most certainly will not!" Mrs. Weasley rushed into the room and tucked her son back into bed. "George Gideon Weasley, you're not anywhere near healed yet."

Hermione translated behind her back and made a face. George cracked a grin at her then looked at his mum.

"I'm feeling a lot better, Mum. Can't I just walk to Hermione's house and back? It's not far."

"Absolutely not! Say goodbye to your friend."

"Bye, George," said Hermione.

He sighed and waved at her before slumping back against his pillows to sulk.

Hermione grabbed her backpack and left his room. Sitting on the narrow staircase was Ron reading a comic book. She tapped him lightly on the shoulder and motioned for him to move. He stood and walked down ahead of her. Once they reached the kitchen, he plucked a gum drop off a gingerbread house his mum made. Indeed, the entire house had been decorated for Christmas like someone used a paper chain cannon. It was crafty and Hermione liked it.

"Hey, Hermione?" said Ron.

She tipped her head.

"Er… can you teach me a bit of sign language?" he asked. "Mum and Dad have been talking with healers for George's hearing, but… it doesn't seem like anything can be done. George gives me a hard time, but he's still my brother, and I want to be able to talk to him without writing everything down. Mostly cause my spelling is rubbish."

Aww… Hermione smiled and nodded.

"Great! I guess we'll start when you visit again."

She nodded again and put on her winter gear before leaving with Winona trotting not too far behind. The cold, December air froze her cheeks and punched the back of her throat. She adjusted the scarf Cedric gave her last year over her mouth and picked up the pace to get home. The snow had begun to fall in fat flakes the size of fifty pence, but by then she could see the charamicos her mum always put up. This year they had an assortment of animals in their front yard.

The charamicos and their Dominican-style Christmas dinner helped Mum miss her island a little less, and Hermione liked having different traditions from everyone else.

Her house with its snow-dusted roof looked like it belonged in one of those fancy model train sets her father's friends like to use. It was all so picturesque. Maybe she could try to get a picture of it later when the snow wasn't falling quite so hard.

Hermione let herself in and whistled to signal she was home.

A tall, black woman appeared in the doorway of the living room and beamed.

"Hermione!"

"Aunt Dahlia!" she threw and jumped into her arms.

Dahlia was her father's sister and Hermione's favorite aunt. Well… she never met her mum's sisters, but Dahlia taught her sign and always took her to a fancy tea place for her birthday. She could tell her anything, it was like having a second mum. Just one that didn't tell her to clean her room.

"I missed you, too," Aunt Dahlia chuckled. "Why don't you get warm while I make us some tea?"

Hermione agreed and ran upstairs to change into dry clothes. Once she had done that and hung her winter gear to dry over the side of her bathtub, she returned downstairs where her aunt had set up a tea tray in the living room. She could see that Dad had gotten all their Christmas decorations out of the attic, but save for the charamicos, nothing was put up yet. It was more fun to decorate as a family anyway and it was no doubt on their agenda tomorrow.

Aunt Dahlia patted the cushion next to her and, once Hermione sat, put her together a cup of tea. They silently drank it and watched the weather change in the way the light shone through the stained glass windows. The longer she stared, the more Hermione swore that they changed. She brought it up once, but Mum and Dad said she was just being silly.

"Alright," said her aunt. "Tell me everything."

Hermione told her all about what happened to George, though she made it sound more like a chemistry lab accident than a magic thing. She wasn't even sure her own parents knew about her powers. They just thought she was being taught a specialized curriculum under Belphoebe. Perhaps it would be better to wait until her Hogwarts letter came in before breaking the news.

"And does George already know sign?" Aunt Dahlia asked once Hermione was done talking.

"Yes, he's been learning it since we became friends," said Hermione. "And his twin Fred knows it, too. It's the rest of his family that doesn't. Ron and Ginny want to learn. His parents seem to think that it's made up just to be cute and are focused more on finding a cure for his deafness."

"That's dumb," Aunt Dahlia scoffed. "I hate parents who use their denial that their child is different to avoid accommodating them."

"Yeah, but do you think you can send a few things to help Ron and Ginny get started? Mostly books and flashcards since they don't have a TV."

"Sure I can. Maybe I can meet this George. I have yet to meet any of your friends."

"His parents don't really like inviting strangers over," said Hermione. "It took me a long time to see the inside of his house. He's also bedridden and can't go out."

She hummed and sighed through her nose.

"That's too bad. At least you can still visit him."

Hermione smiled and nodded.

"Now, what do you say we jump into our tradition of watching those stop-motion holiday movies while eating the components of cookie dough?"

"Yes!"

Though she had a lot of fun baking Christmas sweets and decorating the house with her family, she was eager to get back to her friend. She imagined he was feeling pretty on edge at the moment. He had a lot of change to deal with as well as a never ending parade of stupid. He was going to face a lot of micro-aggressions and even bullying when he was finally able to return to school. She was just going to make sure she was there for him. She knew Fred and Cedric would be there for him, too.

After Aunt Dahlia left to return to London, Hermione stuffed her presents to her friends in her bag and walked towards the Burrow. She liked how their house looked and imagined it would make a very interesting gingerbread house. Maybe she could try to recreate it.

The thundering of hooves alerted her and she turned around to see Cedric on his golden horse racing towards her. Daffodil skidded to a stop and he expertly clambered down. Winona barked and spun around in circles upon seeing her equine friend.

"Hermione!" Cedric gave her a giant hug. "I missed you so much."

She grinned and hugged him back, then stepped away so they could talk.

"On your way to the Burrow?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said and climbed back into Daffodil. "Need a lift?"

She nodded and stretched out her hand. He hoisted her easily behind him and continued on towards the Weasleys at a steady trot.

"Everyone's been talking about what happened to George," said Cedric. "The prevailing rumor is that his family was horrified that the twins ended up in Slytherin instead of Gryffindor and tried to sabotage them. I don't believe a lick of it and I'm trying to block those rumors, but people go hog wild, you know? It's not enough that there's a statue curse going around, they gotta come up with crazy rumors. Charlie's been beside himself about it especially since he couldn't come home with Fred and George. Percy is a tough nut, but I'm sure he's upset too."

Hermione blinked. Statue curse?

He glanced back as if knowing what she was thinking.

"Yeah, there's a lot to fill you in on."

In no time, they made it to the Burrow and dismounted. Hermione and Cedric went through the garden to the back door and let themselves in out of the cold. It seemed all the Weasleys were home for the holidays and in the living room. Some woman who sounded like Celine Dion was crooning a love song. Mrs. Weasley was knitting, Mr. Weasley was playing chess with Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, and Ron were playing exploding snap, Ginny was lingering nearby demanding a turn, and Percy was reading.

"Happy Hanukkah everyone!" said Cedric.

"Cedric, we don't celebrate Hanukkah," said Mr. Weasley.

"And I don't celebrate Christmas, but everyone seems keen on telling me to have a happy one."

Hermione laughed and stomped her foot to get George's attention. He looked up and grinned.

"Hey, Hermione! Cedric, you're here, too!"

"Hey, George," said Cedric, signing as he spoke. "How are you feeling?"

"I've been better," he admitted, signing so his mum couldn't eavesdrop. "I can finally walk around without falling over. I couldn't stand for days. I'm still home-bound, but Mum leaves me alone when I use the toilet now."

"TMI!" said Hermione.

"Go on and have a seat," said Mrs. Weasley. "Hermione, you remember my oldest son, Bill."

She did. She might not have been over a lot, but she knew all of Fred and George's siblings.

"Hey, Bill," she said, George speaking the translation aloud. "What's been up with you?"

"I've got a job through Gringotts," he said. "I go on missions to take down curses on old tombs in Egypt so they can be properly excavated."

Hermione stared at him, unimpressed. He looked confused by her reaction.

"What?"

"You mean to tell me," she said, "that you are breaking into peoples' graves, taking down their carefully constructed protections, robbing them, and stripping down their corpses in the name of a privately owned company?"

Bill's eyes went out of focus as he realized that was exactly what he was doing.

"Fred, George, why don't you, Cedric, and Hermione go upstairs?" Mr. Weasley suggested quickly.

"Sure, Dad," said Fred, motioning to George that they were getting up.

"Did you see Bill's face?" he said once they were upstairs. "I think he was imploding."

Hermione sat down on George's bed and crossed her legs.

"I'm not sorry for what I said. I think museums should create replicas of artifacts and leave the real ones where they belong."

"I think that's fair," said Cedric.

"Anyway, tell me what is up with that Statue Curse!"

They told her everything they knew about cursed vaults and how Hogwarts had a trend that every seven years a kid would come along at the same time as havoc and be the one to save the day. Not necessarily children of prophecy, just kids who realized the adults weren't getting the job done and felt the need to step in.

"And what's this person's name again?"

"Henry," said Fred.

"Henrietta," said Cedric.

They glanced at each other in confusion.

"Are they a boy or a girl?" she asked.

"Girl," said Cedric.

"Boy," said Fred at the same time.

They looked at each other again.

"I think they're both or neither," said George. "They change their appearance so much I think they might be a metamorphagus. Everyone just calls them Boss anyway. They're good friends with Bill and Charlie."

"They don't like me very much," Cedric sighed. "They think I'm putting on an act."

Fred looked at him incredulously. "You are putting on an act."

"Yeah, but not the kind they think I'm putting on. They act like I'm loving the attention when really I'm terrified to let people down."

"Who cares what other people think?" Hermione asked.

Cedric looked distressed.

"I do!"

"I just mean that there's only four people whose opinions matter. Mine, Fred's, George's, and yours. Anyone else just needs to shut up about it."

He made a face like he wanted to believe her, but couldn't quite put himself in that mindset.

"How about presents?" he said. "I need to be home before dusk so we can light the candles."

"Yeah, okay," said George, opening up his trunk and removing two crudely wrapped packages.

They passed around gifts and settled down so they could open them. Hermione always had difficulty choosing gifts for people so she typically defaulted to books surrounding their interests. For Cedric she collected copies of manuals for various objects muggles had that wizards didn't use, for George she gave him something called a Prank-lopedia to refer to for prank ideas. For Fred she gave him a Ripley's Believe It or Not.

Their gifts to her were always homemade and she treasured every single one of them. Little figures she could line up on the shelf above her bed or drawings she could keep safe in a box. This year was no different.

As they played a game she brought over, she hoped they would always be like this and nothing would change for them. Yes, they would have hardships and adjustments, but she always wanted to be able to sit on the floor, chat about everything and nothing, and play games just like this.


	6. Chapter 6

**Space Address: B5 - Owl (or lack thereof)**

**AN: Gosh this story is begging to have my favorite OC, Esperanza. Honestly, I don't have a steadfast plot for this story, it's more like a thinkpiece on how things would be different with this friendship dynamic, this character background, and if there were competent adults in Harry's life.**

**P.S. My own mother almost died this year and things I write seem to be coming true in my own life so, yeah, Luna's mother isn't gonna die. I just can't do it.**

After the winter holidays, Fred and Cedric had to return to school, but George stayed behind. Even though he had recovered, his mum still didn't want him going back to school, which meant he was back in lessons with Belphoebe Diggory.

"It's not fair," he complained. "Fred could translate for me and it's not like we pay much attention in classes anyway. It's like, 'we get the concept, just move on' you know?"

"I think it's like that with school in general," said Hermione. "I like Belphoebe's classes because we go at our own pace."

"I still want to be back at Hogwarts," he muttered. "I don't think Fred and I have ever been apart like this."

Hermione patted his arm lightly.

"It'll be fine," she assured him. "We're the Four Musketeers."

George furrowed his brow. "Aren't there three?"

"No. Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and D'Artagnan are the main characters," she said. "There's four musketeers and four of us."

"I think we need a different analogy."

Hermione pressed her fingers to her mouth and thought about it.

"The four horsemen of chaos?" she suggested.

George grinned, appearing to be in better spirits. "Perfect!"

"Alright, settle down," said Belphoebe. "George, can you see okay from where you are?" He nodded and she continued. "So, I figured we could start you two on the path for nonverbal magic early. I've been going over pronunciations and Pandora and I even pulled spells from other cultures that do the same thing and are easier to cast nonverbally. Most of them are from my mother's spellbooks when she went to Uagadou. Luna, are you alright with this new course?"

"Yes, Auntie Bel."

"Now, what I'm going to do doesn't leave this room, but Pandora and I got help from our friend Apolline and we made some training wands for you three. George, I assume you don't have yours?"

"I have Bill's old wand," he said. "And Mum locked it up."

"That's why I had three made. They're all pear wood and have a basic core. We won't be performing anything too intricate, but they'll do the trick for first year spells."

She passed them out and returned to the board.

"Let's begin."

Their days of learning bled together. In her free time, Hermione had begun teaching Ron and Ginny sign so that they could converse with George. She also helped Belphoebe in her garden and read every book of magic she could get her hands on.

She also looked forward to Cedric and Fred's letters. They used to write every week. Then it became every two weeks then it dwindled to once a month.

She chalked it up to business for upcoming exams.

At least, she hoped that was it. When they did send letters it was always about things they did with their other friends. New things they found they liked to do. Things that didn't include her.

Summer came and with it brought Fred and Cedric. It was almost like they had never left. Almost. As they played their games, Hermione and George both agreed that there was something different. A bit less enthusiasm.

Hermione tried to live each day using the lessons she learned from her favorite book: the Little Prince as well as what befriending those boys taught her. Now it seemed they were forgetting those very lessons. They were busy, they wanted to do something else, they had other things to worry about.

They were drifting away, she could feel it but she feared that the more she tried to cling the more they would try to wriggle from her grasp.

Fred seemed more interested in experimenting with his pranks and Cedric was acting more like a grown-up, though he had been acting differently for years now. She didn't understand it and neither did George.

"What's their hurry?" he asked. "Something's been off about Cedric for a while now, but he is obsessed with being perfect now more than ever and pranking is supposed to be fun but Fred's all 'if we want to get anywhere, we need to start writing things down'."

"I mean, Fred has a point," said Hermione, rocking gently on the swing hanging from the apple tree at Rosehill. "But is he getting enjoyment from the pranks?"

"I don't know anymore. He seems more focused on proving Mum wrong than anything."

Hermione looked down at her shoes then back up at him.

"You still have me."

He smiled. "Yeah, you're my best mate."

They bumped fists.

"Want to go see what Luna is up to?"

"Yeah, sure."

~o0o~

Near the end of summer, Cedric celebrated his bar mitzvah since he would be at Hogwarts on his actual birthday, September 8th. Relatives of his that Hermione had never even met came to celebrate. The ceremony itself was nice though she didn't understand everything and the party after was loads of fun with good food and dancing. Mum told her she would have something similar when she was fifteen called a quinceañera.

Hermione particularly enjoyed the dancing part of Cedric's bar mitzvah and they even shared a dance together.

And then… he was gone and so was Fred. Back to Hogwarts leaving her and George behind.

George had had a huge row with his parents about being allowed back to school which ended with him staying at Hermione's house for a few days until he had cooled off.

She understood his anger. She'd be furious, too. With Belphoebe's help, the both of them were finding a way to adapt to using magic with both of their, for lack of a better word, obstacles. George could cast aloud all right but when it came to new spells his pronunciation was off and could provide disastrous effects.

They both learned that most charms could be signed with one hand and cast with the wand. For transfiguration, they mostly had to rely on non-verbal because repeated motion could get tiring and sloppy after a while.

When Hermione's eleventh birthday arrived, she knew it was time for her Hogwarts letter. Belphoebe had cancelled class for that day so she could be home when it arrived. All through breakfast, she kept looking out the window every few seconds.

When she glanced back down at her waffles, a bang startled her. She looked up to see George pressing his face against the window to make funny faces at her.

"That George," said Mum fondly, getting up to unlock the backdoor.

He came in and plopped a package in Hermione's lap before taking his seat across from her.

"It's a good thing we cleaned the windows recently," she said. "That would have been really gross otherwise."

"Made you smile though didn't it?" he said.

A sharp knock came at their front door.

"Who could that be?" Mum wondered aloud. "We aren't expecting a package."

"Best not to answer then," said Dad.

"Maybe it's Belphoebe with the eggs and milk," said Hermione.

"Darling, you just brought them home on Monday."

She needed that door open, it was probably her Hogwarts letter! The knock came again and Hermione jumped to her feet and rushed to answer it. George wasn't too far behind. He knew exactly what today was.

Hermione peeked out between a clear section of the stained glass and saw a formidable and professional looking woman with rectangular spectacles standing on the porch.

"That's Professor McGonagall!" said George excitedly.

If she could have, Hermione would have screamed with excitement. She opened the door with a wide grin. Winona started jumping around and barking until Hermione whistled and snapped her fingers.

"Miss Hermione Granger, I presume," said Professor McGonagall.

"Morning, professor," said George, poking his head around the door.

The witch nearly dropped the piece of parchment in her hand with surprise.

"Mr. Weasley," she said. "I had no idea you would be here."

George looked to Hermione and she quickly translated as her parents approached the door.

"Hermione," Mum chided. "We don't open the door for strangers. I'm sorry, ma'am, whatever you're selling we aren't interested."

Professor McGonagall looked scandalized at that assumption.

"I assure you, I am not selling anything!" she said. "My name is Professor McGonagall. I am here to speak to you about an education opportunity for your daughter, Hermione. If it helps, George Weasley, here, was a student of mine."

Mum sighed. "Oh, thank goodness, when her accidental magic stopped I worried that she was going to end up like me."

Hermione blinked and looked at her mother.

"What?"

"Professor, please come in," said Mum.

"Darling, what do you mean by 'accidental magic'?" Dad asked.

Mum gave him that look of hers when she wanted all questions to wait as they would be answered shortly. It was normally reserved for movies, but Hermione knew it well enough.

They all sat in the parlor. Professor McGonagall recoiled whenever Winona sniffed at her feet so Hermione asked George to hold the dog while she translated the conversation.

"Miss Granger was on our list for being raised by non-magical parents," said Professor McGonagall. "Yet you seem to know exactly why I'm here. Mr. Weasley… you know the laws."

"I didn't tell them!" said George defensively. He crossed his arms. "Not even in school and I still get in trouble."

"He didn't tell us," said Mum. She sighed. "The laws back home were much different. Hermione, niña, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner but I thought… well, you're a curious soul, I was worried… Why don't I start over? My parents do not have magic, but my sisters do. When we were five, a witch associated with Castelobruxo came and tested us on our abilities. I couldn't do anymore than see magic, but my sisters were blessed. They started off at the school of magic of the Caribbean. Their daughters all have magic and reason stood mine would as well. I noticed the little things: sparks when she was happy, books flying off shelves during tantrums. If they grew worse, I had planned to send her to my sisters so she could begin training. When the outbursts stopped… well, I figured she was like me. She'd have the ability to see magic, but can't really do much. Magic is always unpredictable with children."

"You knew about magic?" Hermione gasped and demanded, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I know you, Hermione. If I had told you from the start you were a witch, you would want to experiment and could have really hurt yourself and I wouldn't have been able to do anything to help you!"

"And why didn't you tell me?" Dad asked, looking hurt. "That magic is real? That you thought our daughter might have magical powers?"

"Would you have believed me if I couldn't have provided proof? Magic is supposed to be kept very secret in most parts of Europe. I might not have been able to attend the school, but I read all the books I could get my hands on."

He opened his mouth and closed it. "Is there proof that this is not some elaborate prank?"

"I can assist with that," said Professor McGonagall. She produced a long stick from her sleeve and tapped the coffee table. It floated up, spun around once, and lowered back to the ground.

Hermione and George applauded lightly while Dad just looked stunned.

"Okay," he said. "All right. Fine. Magic existed and it appears I do not know the woman I married and my daughter is a witch and so is her best friend!"

"All my family is magic," said George. "So's Cedric's and Luna's."

Dad stared at him then looked at Winona. "What are you? A dragon?"

Winona wagged her tail.

"I understand this could be very difficult to absorb," said Professor McGonagall, "but the Statute of Secrecy once used to forbid marriage between magic and non-magical peoples and in Great Britain, you are forbidden to tell your spouse unless absolutely necessary. I know first-hand how awful the laws can be, but there are extreme punishments for violating these laws."

"Alright, alright…" Dad inhaled deeply and exhaled sharply. "So, Hogwarts. Is there a pamphlet or something?"

"My sisters might insist she go to Castelobruxo," said Mum. "At least there she'd have a couple cousins to keep an eye on her."

"No!" yelled George. "Hermione's my last chance! If she goes away, Mum will never let me go back to Hogwarts! All because I'm Deaf now."

"Is that the reason?" Professor McGonagall gasped. "You are not our first disabled student, nor would you be the last, George Weasley. I will have words with your mother."

"So, we're doing this?" said Dad. "Hermione is going to go to a magical boarding school. Er… where is it?"

"Scotland."

"Scotland!" He hung his head in his hands.

Hermione tapped his knee and he looked at her.

"I want to go, Dad," she said. "The reason I stopped having outbursts is because that's what Belphoebe has been teaching me. The basis for magic. Cedric and Fred will be there and so will George and Ron. Luna and Ginny will be there the year after. I want to go to school with my friends."

"You really want this?"

"With all my heart."

"Alright… but I want to find out all I can and I want to see the school to make sure it will be the best fit for you."

Hermione grinned and threw her arms around his neck.

"I hope you don't find me rude," said Professor McGonagall. "But does Hermione speak?"

"No," said Mum. "Never could. She was born that way. I mean, she can make some noises, but they're too painful and only come up in high stress situations."

Hermione nodded.

"That's why I want to go with her," said George. "Hermione's my ears and I'm her voice."

Professor McGonagall placed a hand over her heart.

"Well," she said. "As I said, I will have words with your mother. Mr. and Mrs.—"

"Doctor," Mum corrected. "I did not spend eight years in medical and dental school to be called 'Mrs.'"

"I am just a 'Mr.'," said Dad.

"Mr. and Dr. Granger," the witch corrected, "I can have Mrs. Diggory be your magic family. She will tell you everything there is to know about Hogwarts. As for a tour of the school… it's unorthodox, but given the situation I will see what I can do. Now, Miss Granger, your letters for Hogwarts and Castelobruxo. It was forwarded to us a week prior. You have until July 31st of next summer to finalize your decision."

"Maybe she should tour both schools," said Beatrice. "For compare-contrast reasons. And she can finally meet my sisters and her cousins."

Hermione stopped listening and opened up the letter in the teal envelope. It was all in Spanish, but she knew what it said. Mum taught her how to read Spanish as well as a little Portuguese. The second letter was on parchment and basically said the same thing. How they were pleased to announce her acceptance to their fine institution as well as a list of supplies to start saving for. Why would she want to use a quill and ink though? She always made such a mess, and parchment? Ugh, it was made from animal hide and it had a weird texture when she wrote on it. Or perhaps that was the quill. Whatever. They couldn't expel her for using cheaper supplies.

If she were the same person she was several years ago, she might've been more inclined to immerse herself most completely in her new culture. But Belphoebe told her she could at least try to have the best of both worlds. Especially if Cedric was successful in his ambition to modernize the wizarding world.

She sighed. Not with sadness, but with relief. She didn't have to keep things a secret from her parents anymore! Now, she could go more in depth about her learning material.

"Well, it certainly was a pleasure to meet you all," said Professor McGonagall.

"Wait!" Hermione threw. "The list says cat OR owl OR toad. Can't an exception be made for Winona? I can't leave her behind. She's a good dog!"

"Well, there wouldn't be anyone to tend to her during the day," said Professor McGonagall. "Whereas cats can be left more to their devices."

"Sure, if you want ill-behaved cats," said Mum. "I've had a cat before, Professor. They require as much attention as a dog. Can't Winona just go to class with her and, if there's a class where she can't be, couldn't the groundskeeper watch her?"

"I will see what can be done." Professor McGonagall stood and nodded at them. "I am certain we will meet again soon."

When she left, Hermione looked at George.

"Think she'll be able to convince your mum?"

"She taught my mum!" he said. "If anyone can convince her to let me go back to Hogwarts it'd be her. Still… I'm not too keen on being the oldest in the class by more than a year, you know?"

"We'll prank anyone who has a problem with it."

He cracked a grin. "Works for me."

"Alright," said Mum. "Family meeting. George, you're welcome to hang about, but your vote probably isn't going to count."

"That's fine."


	7. Chapter 7

**Space Address: B4 - Legacy**

**Okay, yeah, I'm totally going to include Esperanza. I love her so much. The family tree is going to be a bit different from Because Why Not.**

**You know what doesn't make sense? The fact that Castelobruxo is in Brazil. Peru would make so much more sense. It has, like, 90 microclimates, 30/32 of the world's climates, and really cool architecture and history that would be perfect for a magic school that specializes in horticulture and zoology. But that's just me. Brazil also has a diverse climate and pyramids were discovered in 2010 which is pretty cool.**

With Mum and Dad in the know, Hermione was more than happy to show them all that she'd been working on to prepare her for school. Mum mentioned that quite a bit of it was the stuff her sisters were learning while they went to the Bermuda Institute of Magical Primary Education. Hermione asked Belphoebe why they didn't have such a school in Britain, which led to a two-hour rant about the stagnation of the education system based on the proven-to-be-false belief that children were only capable of honing in magic at age eleven and that the School Board and Ministry of Magic were not keen on changing their minds no matter how many letters were submitted by her, Pandora, and their friend Claudia Zabini.

Hermione was beginning to wonder if Belphoebe and Pandora were the only sensible witches in this school district.

The good news was that Professor McGonagall managed to convince Mrs. Weasley to let George return to Hogwarts when Hermione was going to go. He wasn't keen on waiting for so long, but he knew when not to push. Besides, he and Hermione were both glad they had another year to hone their skills so they wouldn't fall behind. Hopefully, the teachers would know how to accommodate them by then as well.

Neither heard much from Cedric or Fred. Yes, they sent her letters congratulating her on her Hogwarts letter and expressed excitement about the four of them being together again, but other than that...

She didn't understand it. They always had fun during the winter and summer holidays, didn't they?

Maybe they just found her annoying now. People typically did after a while.

George assured her that couldn't possibly be the case, but she still worried.

She didn't have time to dwell on it, however. As the winter holiday approached, Mum and Dad announced they were going to leave the country for a couple weeks. Mum in particular was excited. They were going to the Dominican Republic where she was born and raised as well as spend a few days in Brazil so she could tour Castelobruxo. Even if she still chose Hogwarts for her first seven years, the school had extended education available much like a university that she could take advantage of.

She was nervous about meeting her family. Mum was a triplet with two sisters: Nachelle and Manola. Manola had two daughters and a son whereas Nachelle had one daughter. Manola was married to a man named Greg and their daughters, Salome and Rafaella were Hermione's age, while their son was four years younger. Nachelle had her daughter, Esperanza, from an old boyfriend, but now was happily living with her partner Nerina. And then there was Abuela Ximena and Abuelo Samsó.

What if they didn't like her or thought she was weird?

She worried about all this as she packed her suitcase. She wished Winona was coming with her, but long-distance flights were too dangerous for dogs, not to mention they would have to quarantine her there and it would all just be a big old mess. It was easier to keep her pup at Cedric's house. Belphoebe offered to pet-sit for her and Hermione trusted her.

"Hermione, are you almost done packing?" Mum asked, poking her head into her room.

"Almost." Hermione tried refolding her favorite blanket so it would fit.

Mum smiled and sat down so she could refold Hermione's things so they would fit better.

"It's going to be a long flight," she said. "I'd bring a variety of books so you don't get bored, and if you like I can give you something to help you sleep once we take off."

"Mum? How come you never made contact with your sisters? Why did you leave D.R. and come to England?"

She paused and slowly sat down. "I guess… because I was jealous. Jealous of their abilities. My bitterness was putting a strain on our relationship and I felt leaving would make things better. I chose England because when I applied to colleges I got a good scholarship to Cambridge. I found friends and the love of my life here and my relationship with my sisters got better. We just didn't visit because our cultures are so different now. Again, I was worried you would resent me for not teaching you magic and my lack of experience would cause you to get hurt. Now that you will be getting training and I no longer feel resentment for something my sisters had no control over, I'm ready to build those bridges again."

That made sense she supposed. At least she distanced herself when she knew her hurt and anger was getting out of control. She couldn't imagine the type of person who let that type of resentment fester without trying to work through it.

"I'm excited to see them again and I know they're excited to see you," Mum continued. "They met you once at your christening."

"We're Christians?"

"Sort of. When my sisters learned of their powers, Mamá and Papá moved us to Luesma, which is a town with mixed magic and non-magic peoples. They have a slightly different denomination of major religions and I preferred the Magic Catholic church over the non-magic. Your father is of the belief that all religions hold truths, but that might be because Grandpa John is C of E and Grandma Xiu is Buddhist and didn't want to force him to choose one over the other."

"Our family sounds complicated."

"At least we aren't boring."

The corner of Hermione's mouth twitched.

"It will be fun," Mum assured her. "Your cousins are excited to meet you, you know."

"They are?"

"Oh, yes. They don't know sign, so your father and I talked with Mrs. Weasley and she agreed to let George come as well so he could translate."

"Really? Wow, I thought we were pushing it by having him come back to Hogwarts," said Hermione.

"I think she feels guilty about keeping him home-bound for so long and having him be the oldest in class by a year and a half," said Mum. "I worry that his siblings will be jealous, but we wouldn't be able to get seats for more than one friend."

"Well, maybe next time," said Hermione. "I can invite Fred next and Cedric the time after and then Luna."

"And here I thought you were worried it wasn't going to go well." Mum kissed Hermione on the head. "I'm going to go pick up George and something for dinner. If you need help getting your luggage to the entryway, ask your father."

"I will."

Hermione finished packing her suitcase and stuffed her backpack with both school books and fun books. As an afterthought, she grabbed her stuffed rabbit and packed it away. She could sleep one night without it.

It was decided. She was excited to meet her extended family.

~o0o~

The flight was really long, but it went by at a decent pace since she had George there. She was relieved to have one of her best friends with her so even if things did go wrong, she had back up.

Mum rented a car and drove through a lot of back roads to get them to Luesma.

For a while, it almost looked as if they were approaching a dead end.

"Darling, maybe we should turn back," said Dad. "We might have made a wrong turn."

"I know where I am going, Roger."

"But it's been eighteen years, couldn't it have changed?"

"Not according to my compass."

"It's not even pointing north, Beatriz."

"It's pointing to a magical epicenter and Luesma is the closest one."

Hermione peered out the window at the lush foliage. The Dominican Republic really was beautiful, though she wasn't used to this kind of humidity. She was just glad the car had an AC or she would start to feel sick.

"See?" said Dad. "A dead end."

Hermione stretched up in her seat to see a fallen log blocking their path. Mum kept driving forward despite Dad's protests. She was growing worried herself when, to her shock, the leaves and wood began bending and wavering. She felt as if cobwebs were brushing over her skin, though George didn't show the same discomfort.

Within moments, the forest was behind them and they were overlooking a town with white-roofed, stone buildings painted a brilliant cerulean. Though that was the outskirts, the farther they moved into the town the more colorful and unique the buildings got. On closer inspection, Hermione could see multi-colored designs either painted on or made from mosaic. People crowded the streets, some chatting, others hurrying on about their business. It seemed they had arrived on a market day judging by the rows of stalls in the town plaza. In the center of the plaza rose a large platform commemorating a person in traditional Taíno attire.

"We're almost there," said Mum. "I should have gone around the city."

No she shouldn't have. Hermione was making a mental checklist of what she wanted to explore. This town truly was a conglomeration of magical and non-magical cultures. Next to the wand shop was an electronics store and a potions shop was boasting brews safe for No-Maj consumption.

On the outskirts of town were detached houses. Some were small and others were quite large.

"Luesma is the only place in the world where housing is free," said Beatriz. "The local government agreed that food, water, and shelter were a right not a privilege."

"Why don't more people live here?" George asked.

"It's also the type of place that you either know of or you don't," she replied. "No place is perfect, I guess."

It seemed perfectly wonderful to Hermione.

"Whoa…" Roger gasped as they pulled up to a large, yellow, two-story home with white trimming and a terracotta roof. "You grew up here, Bea?"

"No…" she said, looking just as surprised. "Our house was so small I had to share a room with my triplets."

The large door opened and a woman who looked almost exactly like Mum stepped out. Same brown skin, same dark brown hair, and the same dark eyes. Though this woman wore her hair in tiny braids.

Mum parked and got out of the car.

"Nachelle?" she asked uncertainly.

Nachelle threw her hands in the air. "Beatriz! ¿Qué lo que?"

Mum ran up to the house and embraced her sister tightly.

Hermione grinned and climbed out of the car, George not too far behind. Nachelle spotted them and grinned.

"You must be Hermione," she said. "How do you sign your name?"

Hermione made the letter 'H' and signed the word for reading.

"Hermione," Nachelle repeated. "It is so nice to meet you. I am your Tía Nachelle. Do you like hugs?"

"If the occasion calls for it."

"Does it call for it?"

Hermione tipped her head. Nachelle was so warm and inviting, so she nodded and opened her arms. Her aunt beamed and hugged her.

"Roger, nice to see you again," she said. "You look good."

"Thank you, so do you. So, is it just you and your partner here?"

"Oh, no, it's all of us. The place is too big for just one family and I like having us all together. George, you'll room with my nephew, Haziel. Hermione, you'll room with my daughter, Esperanza. Oh, let me get that luggage."

She drew her wand from a holster and flicked it. Their luggage grew legs and marched itself inside.

"Come in," she said. "Meet the kids. Manola and Greg will be back later, they couldn't get out of work today. Mamá and Papá are also at their shop. Are you hungry?"

"I could eat," said George.

The inside of the house was decorated for Christmas and a large white tree made of paper was in the living room. A boy and two girls were playing cards. All had medium brown skin like Hermione's and dark brown hair, though one girl had hers in braids and the other kept it short. The boy's was closely shaved with a cool wave pattern. The older girl had skin the color of fresh soil and was furiously writing in a floral patterned notebook. Her black curls were pulled back into a ponytail with a silk rose.

Tía Nachelle spoke to them in Spanish, too quickly for Hermione to catch much less translate.

"Hermione," she said. "These are your cousins. My daughter, Esperanza, is the oldest, she's fourteen." The girl didn't look up from her notebook. "Then Noa and Wilmarie are your age." The twins waved at her. "And Haziel, he's ten."

Haziel tipped his head in greeting.

"Why don't you kids get talking? Beatriz, Roger, we can chat more in the kitchen."

"I'm fine," said Esperanza.

Nachelle kissed her daughter on the head. "She'll snap out of it in a moment."

Hermione moved around the couch and noticed a wheelchair folded up between it and the loveseat.

"I'm Hermione," she said, taking a seat.

"Wilmarie," said the twin with the braids.

"Noa," said the twin with the glasses.

"And I'm George," said George.

"That's a cool set up you have there," said Noa. "Guess we should learn sign too so we can talk girl talk."

"Zaza knows sign," said Wilmarie. "But just Dominican Sign and some Costa Rican sign."

"Is she deaf?" George asked.

"No, just cool."

"Got it!" said Esperanza. She looked up from her notebook and jumped upon seeing Hermione and George. "How long have you been here?"

"They've been here for days," said Haziel. "You missed Christmas!"

Esperanza rolled her eyes and closed her notebook.

"Glad to have you here, prima," she said and shook Hermione's hand. "What do you think of D.R. so far?"

"Oh, it's beautiful!" Hermione gushed. "I'm so excited to see more. I've visited a lot of places but none of them were this vibrant!"

"Ooh, wait til you see Castelobruxo. It's so pretty. You're coming to school with us, right?"

"No," said George crossly. "She's going to Hogwarts."

"I'm taking a tour of Castelobruxo," said Hermione. "If I don't go there for Secondary, I'll at least go for extended-education. I have friends at Hogwarts. Way more fun than some—George, stop putting words in my mouth."

"That's fair," said Wilmarie. "I like hanging out with these guys, but I'm excited to get some friends who share my interests."

"You and your twin don't like the same things?" George asked.

"I mean… we like puppies," said Noa.

"And the color pink," said Wilmarie.

"And flying," said Noa.

"But other than that… Noa has dreams to revolutionize prosthetics and I want to become a dueling champion," said Wilmarie.

"She changes her career path every six months," said Noa.

"Huh…" George leaned back in his seat. "People tend to look at me and Fred as a matching set. One could be substituted for the other. Even though I'm Deaf, my mom still calls me Fred."

"Want to freak her out?" Esperanza asked. "We could give you an all new wardrobe."

"Aunt Nerida can cut your hair," said Haziel.

"Let's dye it a new color!" said Wilmarie.

"Let's dye it pink," said Noa.

"You kids having fun?" Tía Nachelle asked, bringing in a tray of snacks.

"Just talking," said Esperanza. "Can we go out back and fly brooms?"

"I don't know how to fly," said Hermione.

"Well, always a good time to learn," said Tía Nachelle. "Bea? What do you think?"

"Flying was the one thing I could do with no magic," said Mum. "I think you're old enough to learn. Just eat something first, you hardly ate on the plane."

"Airplane food is gross."

"I love that," said Wilmarie, copying the sign. "Gross. I want to learn sign."

"We're all going to learn for George and Hermione," said Tía Nachelle. "I'd like us all to see each other more and I know Manola will feel the same. And now we have a full three weeks to catch up! I'm so excited!"

"Mamá," said Esperanza. "I think I figured out the right spells for the fabric. Can you apply it for me?"

"Yes, of course." She looked at Bea. "Zaza adores sewing and wants to be a textile engineer. I tell you if you ever need an evening gown, Zaza designs and makes the most beautiful outfits. And on the slim chance she won't be famous for her designs, her singing voice could stop a room."

Esperanza smiled and handed her mum her notebook.

"I'll go get the brooms set up while you guys eat."

"Hermione, Fred, Cedric, and I can all play a song on a single piano," said George.

"Well, you'll have to play it for us sometime," said Nachelle.

"Where is Nerida?" Mum asked. "I don't think I ever met her."

"She'll be busy all the way up to the twenty-fifth," she replied. "Salon visits are so popular this time of year. You'll get to see her at dinner."

There was light chatter while they all snacked and then all the kids went outside to the backyard. It had a sandy patch for soft landings and was bordered by a beautiful garden. Hermione spotted a gazebo with a swing and longed to sit in the shade and read a book. It was amazing.

"Alright, broom lessons are on," said Esperanza. "George, can you ride a broom?"

"Yes."

"I know a little," said Hermione. "Belphoebe taught me the basics."

"Cool, then we can teach you a few more moves and get to playing."

Noa summoned her broom, which had a slightly different design. As she climbed out of her chair and climbed on, Hermione saw the stirrups were designed to keep her legs stationary for better steering purposes.

"Did you make that yourself?" she asked.

"Sort of," said Noa. "I came up with the design and Tía Nachelle did the add-ons. She's an amazing broommaker."

"What do your parents do?"

"They're potioneers," said Wilmarie. "They're some of the only potioneers in the world who adjust potions based on age, gender, and magical ability. Like, werewolves react differently to potions and so do metamorphagi and vampires. Those kind are made to order and can even be anonymous if someone isn't 'out'."

"Cool."

"They invented a Wolfsbane Potion with a shelf-life," said Haziel. "Six-months. And a werewolf only has to start taking it four days before hand."

"Maybe they can help us with our textbooks," said George. "Our potion textbooks are seriously outdated. It's a nightmare trying to get a perfect potion in Snape's class. Plus, it was a botched potion that caused me to go Deaf."

"Oh, no!" said Esperanza. "What type of pot did you use? Pewter?"

"Yeah."

"No, no, for volatile substances you want copper or silver. They naturally disinfect and when it comes to uses with magic they absorb impurities and make eruptions and explosions much more difficult. Pewter is just standard because it's cheaper, but it's soft and not all that durable. Castelobruxo recommends copper cauldrons or even just copper pots from the cooking aisle. Oh and you want silver knives. Silver naturally disinfects as well."

"Can't afford copper or silver," said George.

"Well… we open presents on the fifth," said Noa. "Maybe you'll get something nice on Día de los Reyes."

"So how do you guys celebrate Christmas?" Hermione asked.

"Well, on Christmas Eve we have a big dinner and talk until midnight," said Esperanza. "Then Christmas Day, Mamí gives everyone a new hairstyle. The next day we clean the entire house and take the things we don't use that are still good to the market where there's a huge bargain market on the twenty-seventh. No money, goods only. Anything that doesn't find a home goes to donation places to the nearest non-magic cities. Then we finish cleaning the house and paint the outside with a new coat of paint. After that there are community parties all over and Christmas parades and New Year parades. Then we open presents. I guess after that we just finish winter homework, though, I already finished mine so I'll be sewing. And you guys are going to tour Castelobruxo."

"Sounds like fun."

"It is fun. How's your hand-eye coordination?"

"It's okay."

Esperanza smiled and handed her a lacrosse stick. "Don't worry, the brooms have tethers so you don't have to worry about falling. Now, the game is played just like lacrosse, except we're on brooms."

"Can we play with five?" Hermione asked.

"Sure, if we don't keep score."

After explaining the rules, Wilmarie whooped and scooped up the ball with her lacrosse stick as she took off. George grinned and followed suit.

They played for several hours and Hermione didn't think she'd ever have so much fun flying. Guess it depended on the game. They stopped playing around sunset when a tall man with dreadlocks and a neatly trimmed beard stepped out.

"Dinner's ready!" he called.

They all landed and Hermione trotted over to meet her Uncle Greg. He smiled and shook her hand.

"Hey, there, Hermione," he said, his voice deeper than any voice Hermione ever heard. "It's so nice to officially meet you. I haven't seen you since you were a baby. Look at how much you've grown. What do you think of our island?"

"It's brilliant, I'm really glad we came."

"Well, me too. And George, welcome to the Sanchez familia. Don't give me that look, friends are family." He clapped George on the shoulder and headed inside. "Mom made asopao de pollo."

They ate in the dining room, which was beautifully decorated with so many colors and pretty designs. Hermione decided to try and get some photos of it for Cedric.

"Herminita!" an old woman stood and rushed over to greet her. "It's been so long." She hugged Hermione tightly and held her at arm's length. "You carry such intelligence in your eyes. Just like your mamá." She smiled and gently touched her chin. "I made something for you today."

She reached into her pocket and brought out a small box.

"Go on, open it," said Wilmarie.

Hermione looked at her mum and dad who nodded encouragingly. She removed the lid and found a pretty silver necklace with a stone pendant the color of the sea. She grinned and lifted it out of the box.

"Larimar," said Abuelo, standing up so he could greet her as well. "It only forms in the Dominican Republic. And we learned it has magical properties. It will bring you peace and clarity."

"It's beautiful, I love it!"

"Well, we've been jewelry makers for about fifty years now," said Abuela. "Come, sit, eat. There's lots to learn about each other."

Hermione grinned and sat down at the table.

This was definitely a good idea.


	8. Chapter 8

**Space Address: 3A - Vigil/Mass**

**Challenges: **Short Jog; Click Bait It; The Real MC; Ethnic & Present; Neurodivergent; Quiet Time; Scaly Tales; Letter of the Day; Old Shoes; Interesting Times; Themes & Things A (New Beginnings)

**Word Count: 2490**

**Warnings: None**

Hermione's family was seriously cool. Her abuelos had a jewelry making business and learned the art of amulets. They carved the runes with special tools and their magical apprentices used arithmancy to activate the magic. Greg and Manola had a successful potioneering shop and went through Hermione's potions textbook with her to make corrections and updates. Nachelle was a successful broommaker and was coveted by Quidditch teams all over the world for her contemporary styles and methods, which was how she was able to get that nice house for her family.

She really liked her cousins as well. Haziel was really cool, Noa had a deadpan sense of humor, Wilmarie came up with really fun games, and Esperanza was even sweeter than Cedric.

On Christmas Day, Tía Nerida gave everyone new hairstyles so they could start off the following year on the note that they wanted to. It was amazing how something as simple as a hairstyle could help a person's confidence or influence how they acted. Hermione asked to be surprised and was given two bantu knots on the top of her head while the back half flowed freely. She loved it so much that Tía Nerida promised to teach her how to do it properly before she went home.

George certainly wasn't left out of the family traditions, but was even more clueless than Hermione when it came to his new hairstyle.

"Mum just puts a bowl over our heads and trims off the ends," he said. "She lets us grow it out some when we're in school, but she doesn't like Bill's long hair."

Tía Nerida hummed and twisted a cerulean blue braid around her finger. Hermione hoped to be stylish like her when she grew up.

"I see what you mean about the bowl cut," she said. "How about… we trim up the edges and give your fringe a cool flip? I can give you a neat design on the side that will really make you stand out."

"Until he meets up with the other twelve year old boys in this city," said Wilmarie.

Nerida shushed her.

"Now, your hair is such a pretty orange," she said. "But we can make it a different color if you like."

"Noa mentioned that," said George. "I wouldn't even know what color to pick."

Nerida drew her wand. "Well, if you want to play it safe we can go with black." She charmed his hair and he wrinkled his nose. "Or brown." She changed it again. "Or if you want to be adventurous we can go with pink, chartreuse, or how about atomic turquoise?"

"Whoa!" George gasped when he saw the electric blue. "That one. I want that one."

Tía Nerida chuckled and let it go back to red.

"Atomic turquoise it is," she said. "Let's go ahead and start dyeing and then I'll cut it after."

Hermione chatted with him the best she could while he got his hair dyed and cut.

"How come we don't just leave it charmed?" he asked.

"Charms don't last forever," Nerida explained, brushing in more color. "They can also be reversed. However, I make a special dye that lasts a long time. I get a little help with magic, but it's just to boost the color so you don't have to bleach."

"Wicked."

After his haircut, Tía Nerida turned him towards the mirror.

"What do you think?" she asked.

George gasped and stood up.

"I love it… I love it! I love it! I love it!" He hugged Tía Nerida tightly.

She chuckled and patted him on the head.

"Think anybody will call me Fred now?" he asked Hermione.

"Definitely not," she replied. "He's going to be so jealous."

He grinned and swiped his fingers through his hair.

~o0o~

After cleaning day, they had a small pile of items for the bargain market. Mostly clothes, old toys, and books. The adults gave the kids a bag of items to use for the trade and divided up to make sure no one was left unsupervised. Bargain day wasn't particularly dangerous, but it was chaotic and it was easy for any person to get overwhelmed and turned around. Hermione was easily one to get overwhelmed in a crowd, but she was easily distracted by the novelty of the city that she hardly noticed the brush of passersby.

It also helped that she had George on one side and her parents behind her.

A lot of people had set up stalls with items that they were bargaining for other people while others just flitted from stall to stall searching for what they wanted with the goods they were willing to trade.

Hermione paused at a stall where an older woman was selling trinkets.

"Hello, dear," she said, slowly enough that she could understand. "See anything you like?"

The young girl perused the items and found a cylinder painted with a carousel. She turned it over in her hands and heard something rattle around inside almost like music.

"What's this?" George asked.

"That is a music box," said the woman. "It's a special music box. When my husband and I were children we used that music box for the Game."

"What was the game?"

"A daring game," she said. "Whoever held the music box made the dare and the other person would have to do it. We got into much mischief over the game."

Hermione ran her thumb over one of the painted horses and passed it over to George.

"What do you want for it?" she asked.

"I plan on visiting my dear friend in Peru and I need a scarf to keep me warm."

Hermione had a shawl that would work perfectly as a scarf. She dug into her bag and brought it out. The old woman lit up and accepted the scarf.

"Perfect," she said. "The music box is yours."

Hermione smiled and took the music box back from George. She wasn't sure why she liked it so much. She supposed it might be a game to keep Fred and Cedric back in her lives. They were both competitive. An everlasting game of dare would always give them something to bond over, even if their interests changed. They could come up with the rules when she and George returned to England.

Before they returned to England, however, they would be making a special trip out to visit Castelobruxo. They had classes Hermione and George could sit in on as well as tours led by the Headmistress of the school, Dona Claudia, and former students of the school.

Esperanza only got two weeks off for winter holiday, so the Grangers and George went with her to Castelobruxo. They'd get to see the dorms that way.

George said that students got to Hogwarts by the Hogwarts express. A train running through the middle of the Amazon wouldn't just raise heads. It would disrespect the land and disrupt life. Instead, they had special boats that would go along the river. Some people came in on flying carpets or flying boats, the closer countries had the option for students to floo in from the embassies. Hermione's family got to take one of the flying boats, courtesy of Luesma. There were about 500,000 wizards in the Dominican Republic. About 7,000 were school-aged. Most of them went to the local schools, but about a thousand went to Castelobruxo. Castelobruxo and Uagadou were tied for the largest student population bringing in more or less than 75,000 students each per year, not including staff or extended education.

Hermione tipped her face up to the sun and enjoyed the wind in her hair. She was terrified of the flying boat at first, but if she looked out instead of down it was more like being in a plane.

"Hermione, look!" said George, pointing. "There it is!"

She looked out and gasped. There, sprawling out across the borders of Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil was Castelobruxo.

After passing through a cloud of wards, they floated above what looked like a small city. Three pyramids rose in the center, two of colorfully painted stone and one that looked to be made of pure gold. They were surrounded by canals that led to other buildings made of colored glass in a Neo-Andean style. There were several Quidditch pitches, two theaters, and an amphitheater. She spotted a high cathedral, a mosque with an obsidian dome, and a white synagogue with brown trimming near each other and connected by a spanning Plaza that Esperanza explained was where they held certain celebrations. Just beyond was the midnight blue Astronomy Tower and the faculty living quarters. Past the main canal, she could see the spanning zoo containing habitats for all the creatures and the gardens, each contained in their own microclimate.

Each building was painted differently, had a different architecture, and each had a statue of their dorm mascot. As they landed, Hermione could see a giant porcupine, a macaw, a jaguar, a llama, a caiman, a bear, and a wolf guarding the entrances to the dorms, though she couldn't see the mascots of the buildings behind them. They were all neon colored and slightly off from the creature they appeared as. The jaguar had wings, the llama had spines, the porcupine had an armored tail, and so on.

"They are modeled after alebrijes," said Esperanza. "From Mexico. Castelobruxo appreciates cultures from all over Latin America. We have quinceañera celebrations at the end of each month, Día de Muertos in November, Carnival in February, though everyone celebrates their own independence day. It's so much fun. I'm part of the Samba club. Costume designer. We have a float every year in the parade."

"Sounds like fun," said George.

They landed in the designated area and had to move out fast so the next boat could land. Hermione grabbed George's hand and her mum's as they walked off the platform to avoid losing them in the crowd. Esperanza dragged her bubblegum pink suitcase behind her and led the way to her dorm. It was in the second row and had a water serpent with a fur ruff guarding the front. Its bejeweled eyes studied the Grangers suspiciously and Hermione was certain if they overstayed their welcome something would happen. Something bad.

Cool.

Esperanza approached a man with salt and pepper hair. He wore cargo shorts and a t-shirt with the school crest on it.

"Olá Senhor Delgado," said Esperanza.

"Miss Esperanza," he replied cheerfully. "Here's your packet. Who is this with you?"

"My cousin and her friend. They would like a tour of the school, but I'd like to show them the dorms first if that's okay."

"Of course, of course! While you do that I will call for someone to give the tour."

Esperanza motioned for them to follow her and she took the staircase to the right. The walls had paintings done by the art club lining them and there were sculptures in the more open areas. The wooden doors were painted bright colors and had thin mail slots right beside them with the student's name on it.

Esperanza dug her key out of the packet she received and unlocked the door. Inside was a small room about eight by twelve feet. The loft bed had a desk underneath, across it was a dresser with a mirror and shelves for books flanked by a rod for hanging clothes up. The door opened up to a toilet and sink and there was a sliding glass door leading out to a shared patio. Dorm buildings were co-ed and, according to Esperanza, the showers were private, each with a changing room behind a door that could lock.

"This is nice," said George, sitting down in the chair. "At Hogwarts, you share a room with your Housemates. It's divided by boys and girls and boys can't go to the girl's dorms but girls can go to the boys. At least… it's that way for Slytherin house."

Esperanza made a face.

"I can't put my finger on why," she said, "but that bothers me."

She set her pet carrier on the desk and opened her suitcase. With a flick of her wand and a mutter, everything flew out and arranged themselves neatly around the room. Then she set up a terrarium and opened her pet carrier where she took out a massive ball python. Mum crossed the room as far as she could and looked away. Mum was terrified of snakes.

Esperanza hissed to the snake, kissed its head, and set it down in the terrarium.

"You're a parselmouth aren't you?" said George, in wonder.

"That's right," she said.

"I… I could hear you," he said. "I don't know how, but I could."

"Well… magical languages can be spoken at a different frequency than human languages," Esperanza reasoned. "Plus, your injury is magical. I bet with the right spellwork, you could create a translator that also acts as a hearing aid. After all, Hermione can't always be there as your ears."

"True… I'll think about it."

"Why don't we ask the librarians if there are books on that. I know Hermione wants to see the library."

Hermione perked up and nodded vigorously. She absolutely wanted to see the Castelobruxo library.

When they reached downstairs, they were met by a girl named Aldina Barreto who happily gave them the tour of the campus, giving examples of the learning styles as well as class structure. At Castelobruxo, they believed in a smaller class size that incorporated magical styles from all around the world. Near the dormitories was a small town that had restaurants, stores, and a massive plaza for market day. Craft clubs were encouraged to open stalls and sell items to help increase their budgets. George compared it to Hogsmeade, though admitted that students in third year and above only got to visit it once a month. Unlike here where they were open and available to the public every day of every week.

They had a church, synagogue, mosque, and smaller temples for worship. The plaza connecting the places of worship could have sections rented out for quinceañera celebrations and was also used for vigils.

The canals running through the school were filled with interesting, vibrant creatures and in the midday sun, the main pyramid shimmered a stunning gold.

Hermione was impressed and a part of her really wanted to go to this school. Especially when she saw the underground library. It had four levels, comfortable seating areas, private study rooms, and a café! However, she knew that George couldn't go here. His family wouldn't have the money and from what he told her, the grades he made in his short amount of time at Hogwarts wouldn't be enough for a scholarship.

Still, she decided that she could come back for her extended education. She didn't quite know what she wanted to do yet, but she knew she wanted to do something great.


	9. Chapter 9

**Word Count: 2950**

**Challenges: **Short Jog; Click Bait It; Hufflepuff MC; Slytherin MC; The Real MC; Ethnic & Present; Neurodivergent; Quiet Time; Summer Vacation; What Wards? (Y); Letter of the Day; Old Shoes; Interesting Times; Claimed; Themes & Things A ( Family)

**Space Address: E1 - Bell**

**Warnings: None**

When Cedric and Fred returned from school in June, they all celebrated by doing something special. Hermione's parents and Belphoebe agreed to take the four children to the zoo in London. After all, muggle animals were as fantastical to the boys as magical creatures were to Hermione. So, they packed a picnic and took the train to London.

Fred, George, and Cedric had tons of questions having never really been in contact with Muggle things before. Cedric, in particular, was interested and even took notes since his ambition was to modernize the wizarding world. Roger and Beatriz were happy to answer any questions he had.

The zoo itself was bustling with people. Fred, George, and Cedric marveled over the strange creatures. Cedric in particular liked the giraffes.

"You know," he said. "It seems rather odd that creatures like this exist, yet unicorns are magical and 'don't exist'. A cheetah with horse feet and the neck of a snake is way weirder than a horse with a horn."

Hermione thought about it and grinned.

"You're right! That is crazy."

"I'm boiling out here," said Roger. "Why don't we go to the reptile house?"

"Aw, yeah! Lizards!" said Fred.

Their party made their way to the reptile house, which was cool and shaded. The parents took a seat on a bench while the kids explored the creatures.

"So, do they always live in these things?" Fred asked.

"No," said Hermione. "There's a larger habitat that they live in in the expanded part. This here is just for show. Ooh! A python!"

She stood next to a boy who was speaking softly to the sleepy snake. He was thin and wore hand-me-downs. Times were hard though. A lot of kids wore hand-me-downs to save money these days. What did seem off were the bruises on his arms. Like he'd been roughly handled. She could also see a wicked looking scar peeking out from under his unruly black hair. Almost as if he'd been struck by lightning. In the reflection of the glass, she saw a few locks of hair were white.

Hermione became distracted as the python lifted its head and stared at the boy. Guess he had a connection with this snake like she did with Winona or Esperanza had with Pookie.

She was jolted out of her thoughts when someone yanked on her hair. She smacked the offending hand away and whirled around to face a very large boy and his weedy friend. They laughed and pushed the other boy into the glass. He righted his glasses and scowled.

Hermione pushed the large boy and stood between him and the small one.

"Look, Harry, you've got yourself a girlfriend!" The large boy looked around to see that no adults were watching and cracked his knuckles. "See what she thinks now."

Hermione whistled her S.O.S. warning and her boys hurried over. They skidded to a stop, their looks of determination turning to horror.

"Hermione," said Cedric. "Don't. Move."

"Why?" she asked and turned around to see the python rearing its head.

Then she realized the glass was gone. Harry looked more amazed than terrified. The python slithered out of its cage past Hermione. The bullies screamed. Fred and George shrieked and jumped onto the nearest perch, which happened to be Cedric.

"MUM!" Cedric shouted, supporting the twins.

"Snake!" someone screamed.

The python seemed to jump at people just to scare them, but was more keen on making its escape. Hermione released a shuddering breath as her parents and Belphoebe approached them.

"Are you okay?" Mum asked. "What is this about a snake?"

"One escaped from the exhibit," said Cedric. He frowned. "Will you two get off me?"

He dumped Fred and George unceremoniously to the ground. Hermione waved her hands and pointed to the boy. What was his name? Harry. He was being handled roughly by a man who was undoubtedly the father of the bully.

"We're leaving!" he said. "Right now!"

"Ow!" Harry cried as he was dragged away.

Belphoebe stared after them for a long moment and Cedric whispered to her.

"Roger, Beatriz, can you get everyone home alright?" she asked.

"Yes, of course," said Beatriz. "Why?"

"I'll tell you later but it might have to do with…" she signed the word for magic and their eyes widened.

"Alright, we'll get the kids home safe," said Roger.

Belphoebe nodded and hurried after Harry and those others.

~o0o~

Belphoebe counted herself lucky that her animagus form was a falcon. Her sharp eyes helped her pick out the boy on their way to the car park and then follow the car he entered. Her wings carried her all the way to Surrey. On her way there, she formulated a plan. She typically liked to have 3-5 business days to properly formulate her plans, but if her son's hunch was right, it was better to act sooner rather than later.

The car made one stop and a skinny white boy was dropped off before continuing on to an identical home several streets over. Belphoebe didn't know how people could tell which one was theirs. Where was the personality? The panache? How did Muggles not go crazy with an environment like this?

Okay, not the topic she needed to focus on. She swooped down and landed into the bushes, making the woman yelp.

"Vernon!" she gasped. "Something just went into the bushes!"

"Not now!" Vernon dragged the smaller boy out of the car.

Belphoebe hopped onto the window and charmed it open. Not an easy feat in animagus form, but she needed to hear every word.

"Go to your cupboard!" Vernon ground out. "No meals!"

And that was enough. Belphoebe flew around to the small space in between the houses and turned back to her normal self. She charmed her clothes to a decorative saree and hoped for once these people would be racist enough that they couldn't tell a South Asian from a North African. She hurried back to the front door and rapped her knuckles soundly against the wood.

The tall, thin, blonde answered and looked down her nose at Belphoebe with disdain.

"Hello," said Belphoebe, scanning her memories briefly. "Is this the Dursley residence?"

"It is," Mrs. Dursley sniffed. "Who, may I ask, are you?"

"Oh! I have been searching for you for years!" Belphoebe gushed and placed a hand on her chest. "You see, I am here for Harry."

The cupboard door under the stairs creaked open ever-so-slightly.

"Vernon!" Mrs. Dursley shouted.

Mr. Dursley appeared in the doorway looking exceedingly irate.

"What do you want?" he snapped.

"Harry," she said and pushed her way in.

"And who, may I ask, are you?" he demanded.

"So sorry, I am Aasmi Podhar," she said. "I am a distant relative of Harry's."

"We were told he had no family left!" Mrs. Dursley spluttered. "Only us!"

"Oh, really?" she said. "And I suppose you have no cousins? Or great uncles? Or both your parents were only children?"

Mr. Dursley's jaw waggled and he pointed a large finger in her face.

"And how are we only just now hearing about you? Where were you when the brat first arrived?"

Belphoebe took a slow breath to maintain her cool.

"As I said, I am a distant relative. These things take time to learn and research. I had not seen James in many years myself and had not heard of his passing until recently. Now that I know, I am taking Harry with me."

"Absolutely not!"

"I see… and this is because you care so deeply for the boy?" she challenged. "Raise him as your own in this house? Under the staircase? I wonder, do you withhold meals from your other son? I wonder what child services would think of the treatment you show both children."

Mrs. Dursley paled while Mr. Dursley flushed.

"It's none of your concern!" he shouted.

"Oh, but it is." She drew her wand and the pair stiffened. Good. So they did know the significance. She crossed over to the cupboard and opened the door fully. What she saw broke her heart.

A pallet lay on the bottom of the dirty cupboard and the shelves were filled with worn out clothes and broken toys. The boy himself had managed to make himself appear even smaller in order to fit in the cramped conditions.

"Hello, Harry," she said and knelt down. "I'm sorry I didn't know about your situation sooner."

"Are you really going to take me away?" he asked, his green eyes shining with hope.

"If that is what you wish."

He hardly glanced around before nodding. She knew this boy would not trust her easily, but misery had backed him into a corner and he was ready to take any way out he saw.

Belphoebe held out her arms. Tentatively, he hugged her and she picked him up. He held on tighter.

"If you don't mind," she said. "I'll be taking Harry home now."

The Dursleys just gawked at her but made no move to stop her as she left through their front door. Judging by their overall attitudes it was safe to assume Harry knew nothing about his heritage and something like the Knight Bus would frighten him. So, she carried him to the nearest bus stop, set him down, and took a seat.

"So, where do you live?" Harry asked, sitting next to her. "Somewhere far away?"

"Not as far as you're hoping," she said. "Ottery St. Catchpole. In Devon."

He gave her a suspicious look. "You're not really a long-lost relative are you?"

Quick boy.

"No," she said, certain he would be able to tell if she lied. "I just couldn't bear to think that those people would hurt you and I doubt child services would be able to do much."

"So who are you really?"

"Belphoebe Diggory," she said, placing a hand on her chest, and nodded her head.

"Harry Potter," he replied, copying her movement.

Good thing Cedric's hunch was correct. No one had known Harry's whereabouts since that Halloween ten years ago. All this time he was being abused and neglected. Who allowed this? And what was going on with those wards around that house? They were so weak it almost looked like a child made them.

Belphoebe suppressed her anger. If she was tense, Harry would be as well. She lightly brushed his fringe back to look at the scar leftover from his contact with the Killing Curse. It was as if he'd been struck by lightning with how it spidered into his hairline and cut across his brow.

"They didn't do this to you did they?" she asked.

"No," he said. "This happened when my parents died in a car crash."

"Is that what they told you?"

Harry paused. "Did you know my parents?"

"I knew of them," she said. "They went to the same school as me before I transferred to a school in France."

"What were they like?"

"Well, I was three years above them and in a different House," she admitted. "But your father was the biggest hell-raiser I had ever witnessed. And your mother was fiercely loyal even at eleven. I'd never seen a person so quick to defend others. Well… until today. I saw what happened with the snake."

"The window just disappeared!" he cried defensively. "It was like magic." He clapped a hand over his mouth like he had said a bad word.

"Nothing wrong with a little magic," said Belphoebe with a kind smile. This poor child had so much to learn. "It's okay, Harry, I'll explain everything. From here on I will not lie to you. Unless I say I'm fine and I'm clearly not, but I need to keep going anyway." She frowned. "Where is the bus?"

"I don't think it runs at this time," said Harry.

"Hm… that won't do." She looked at Harry. "Well, we'll just do this out of order."

She stuck out her wand arm and there was a loud _Bang_! A purple triple-decker bus careened down the street and screeched to a halt in front of them. The door opened and an old man was sitting in the driver's seat.

"Afternoon, Ernie," said Belphoebe, climbing aboard. "Where's John?"

"Promoted," said Ernie. "New feller comin' in soon."

"That's nice," she said and paid the fee for her and Harry. "Ottery St. Catchpole, please. Rosehill."

"Is this safe?" Harry asked, eyeing the loose armchairs.

"Well, there haven't been any accidents so far," she said, taking her seat. "There are cushioning charms around every seat."

Harry took the chair next to hers and wasn't prepared when the bus took off. Belphoebe reached out and steadied him.

"It's alright," she said. "It won't be long."

"Is this magic?" Harry asked.

"Yes. I have reason to believe you're magic. Tell me, has anything ever happened that you couldn't explain away?"

His eyes went out of focus as he thought back to events over time. Belphoebe didn't pry. If he wanted to tell her, he would.

"So, you're a witch," he said slowly, grasping the concept.

"Yes."

"What if the Dursleys call the police on you?"

"I've got friends and connections," she said. "We can make everything legal. Besides, you'll be going to school this fall."

"St. Brutus?"

She had no idea where that was but it must've been awful judging by his cringe.

"Hogwarts," she corrected. "It's the school for Britain, but if you don't like it there, you can always transfer to Beauxbatons like I did."

"So both my parents went to Hogwarts?"

"Yes, all seven years."

"Why didn't you?"

"I wanted to pursue a career in dueling," she said. "And Beauxbatons has the best dueling program. I was co-captain for their team and we were world champions. Then… well, I had to put down roots. I can tell you more soon."

Ernie slammed on the breaks and Belphoebe threw her arm in front of Harry to prevent him from falling out.

"Ottery St. Catchpole!"

"That's us." Belphoebe exited the bus to the path to her house.

"This is your house?" he gasped.

"Rosehill Manor has been in my family for generations," she said. "We supply all the milk, wool, and eggs for Ottery St. Catchpole. My mother moved back to Algeria after my son turned three so it's just me, my son, my husband, his father, and we have hired people who come in the mornings to milk the cows and harvest eggs while Cedric is at school. The rest I can take care of just fine. Are you hungry?"

"I could eat," he said.

Belphoebe guided him through the garden to the door leading into the kitchen. Judging by the sound of bleating coming from the closed barn doors, Cedric had finished his evening chores. Ever since he turned nine, her boy always went above and beyond even though she didn't expect him to.

Tavi wasn't in the kitchen and Belphoebe remembered it was the elf's night off.

"How about breakfast for dinner?" she suggested. "Have a seat and we'll talk while I cook."

"So, magic," said Harry, sitting down. "It's all real?"

"Oh, yes. It's more of a science actually. Yes, you can do wondrous things, but there are laws and limitations. I'll give you a crash course before you start in the fall."

"How do you know I'll even be accepted?"

"Harry, you made a glass pane disappear," she said. "I imagine you will be very powerful so long as you work hard and train well."

He looked down at his hands shyly and jumped when the back door banged open.

"Hey, Mum!" Cedric called. "I think we need to lay down some thresh with all this rain we've been getting."

He entered the kitchen, his entire front covered in mud. Belphoebe chuckled.

"Oh, love, look at you." She grabbed a towel and wiped his face. "Well, a little mud is healthy. Go on upstairs and clean up. When you come back down could you bring a set of old clothes?"

Cedric looked over to see Harry sitting at the table.

"You were at the zoo," he said and looked back at her. "So I'm right?"

"Yes. Now, go on and clean up. We're having breakfast for dinner."

"Okay, Mum."

He ran up the old servant stairs in the corner to get to the first floor. Belphoebe returned to her cooking.

"So, what questions do you have, Harry?"

"If my parents were magic… then they didn't die in a car crash, did they?"

"No, Harry. Ten years ago, Wizard Britain was at war with itself. Leading the dark side was a wizard by the name of Voldemort. He believed that non-magic people as well as magical children of non-magic people were beneath him. He killed a lot of people. Including my brother, sister-in-law, niece, and father."

"And he killed my parents as well?"

"Yes, but something happened that night. You see, when he had tried to kill you, his spell backfired. You are the youngest survivor of the Killing Curse and for this reason you are famous."

"Famous?" he whispered with disbelief.

"It is going to get overwhelming," she said. "However, if you allow me, I can help prepare you for life as a wizard. Is that okay?"

Harry swallowed and nodded. "Yes."

Amos entered the kitchen.

"Belphoebe, have you seen my reading glasses?" he asked.

"Yes, dear, they are on your desk."

Amos slowly looked at Harry.

"This is Harry," she said. "He's going to be staying with us for a while. Remind me to send a note over to Dee."

"Oh no, not again," he groaned and left the room.


End file.
